30+ kilos of MDMA found near the plane of a notorious gang-leader. Hey says it’s not his, and it wasn’t in his plane, but he’s part of a group responsible for plane crashes. Not cool. Maybe he should have taken some of his product and reconsidered his life goals. Kim Bolan at the Vancouver Sun explains…
A man linked to the United Nations gang who crashed a plane in Washington state two years ago claims the duffel bags full of ecstasy found nearby were not his, B.C. Supreme Court heard Friday.
Joseph Patrick Curry’s lawyer, John Conroy, said the evidence presented against his client is not strong enough to justify Curry’s extradition to the U.S. on charges of importing ecstasy, possession with intent to distribute ecstasy and entering the United States “without inspection.”
He said the fact the U.S. included details of Curry’s interview denying knowledge of the ecstasy in the extradition request undermines the claim there was no evidence to contradict the U.S. charges.
“He says he knew nothing of the illicit narcotics found near the Cessna,” Conroy said told Justice Peter Rogers Friday. “The evidence doesn’t show that those bags were ever in the plane.”
Justice Department lawyer Stacey Repas, representing the U.S. government, said there were sufficient grounds to commit Curry for extradition to Washington state.
“You have Mr. Curry, who was the owner of the aircraft, and admits to flying it,” Repas said. “The three bags are found nearby.”
He laid out the case against Curry, identified in U.S. court documents as a member of the notorious UN gang who appeared alongside gang founder Clay Roueche at another member’s funeral.
Curry flew a red and white Cessna across the border into Washington’s Okanogan County on Aug. 10, 2007, alerting U.S. Customs officials.
Witnesses said the plane made an emergency landing in a farmer’s field and that they could see a man walking from the Cessna out of view.
Immigration agents searched the plane and found a for sale sign with a B.C. number on it. They called and were told by the previous owner that he had sold the plane to Curry, a suspect in earlier cross-border drug runs.
“After searching the plane that landed in the open field on August 10, 2007, several duffel bags were located,” the indictment against Curry says.
The substance in the bags was determined to be 72 pounds (32.6 kilograms) of ecstasy, also known as MDMA, stamped with the letters BOSS.
“Curry had relayed to his attorney that he had engine trouble and encountered foul weather forcing him to land in the United States as his original destination was from Princeton to Penticton,” the indictment says.
Curry tried to enter the U.S. on Aug. 13 at Sumas and was arrested.
“Curry stated that he had been the pilot of the aircraft and denied any knowledge of any narcotics found in or near the aircraft,” the indictment says.
Curry, 49, was later released on bail and went back to Canada, but failed to return to the U.S. for subsequent court dates.
He was arrested last March in a cross-border probe called Operation Blade Runner targeting a gang allegedly involved in heli-smuggling.
The RCMP said at the time that Curry, of Chilliwack, and another man, “were on their way back to pick up the remainder of the drugs at the helicopter landing zone just outside of Nelson.”
He is yet to face new charges in B.C. in connection with the probe.
Rogers reserved his ruling on the extradition request.
kbolan@vancouversun.com
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