Malone Man Convicted of Conspiring to Distribute Marijuana
Feb 5, 2014
Released by the Department of Justice
United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian
Northern District of New York
Faces At Least Ten Years in Prison
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – ALLAN PETERS, 42, of Malone, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana by a jury yesterday following a four-day jury trial in Syracuse, New York before United States District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA). PETERS is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2014 in Syracuse. He faces a maximum of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.
During trial, the government offered evidence that from at least 2005 through 2011, PETERS and many others smuggled thousands of pounds of marijuana into the United States and sent millions of dollars in drug proceeds back to Canada. They used property controlled by PETERS in Syne, Quebec, Canada on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation as a staging area for the hockey bags of marijuana being smuggled into the United States. The bags, which normally contained 100 to 200 pounds of marijuana, were then transported into the United States.
Law enforcement officers seized marijuana from the smuggling organization on the following dates: (1) on May 8, 2009, the United States Border Patrol seized approximately 250 pounds of marijuana in North Hudson, New York; (2) on September 15, 2010, the Tribal Police Services and the New York State Police seized approximately 240 pounds of marijuana, after a high speed chase from the Akwsasne Mohawk Indian Reservation to Malone, New York; and (3) on March 1, 2011, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Services and the United States Border Patrol seized approximately 100 pounds of marijuana in Hogansburg, New York.
The investigation and prosecution of PETERS was the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Border Patrol (USBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO), the New York State Police, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department (SRMTPD) the Akwasasne Mohawk Police Services (AMPS), and the District Attorneys of Franklin and Clinton Counties.
Any questions may be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Gardner in Plattsburgh, New York at 518-314-7800.
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CONTACT: Elizabeth C. Coombe or Daniel C. Gardner, www.justice.gov/usao/nyn, PHONE: (518) 314-7800