September 3, 2009

CANADIAN LEONIL LEDOUX SENTENCED FOR MARIJUANA SMUGGLING

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of
Vermont announced that Leonil Ledoux, 75, of Magog, Quebec, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington to time served following his guilty plea to a charge that he conspired to smuggle marijuana into the United States. Chief U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered that Ledoux serve two years of supervised release. Ledoux has been incarcerated since his arrest this past February. It is expected that Ledoux will be deported back to Canada upon his release from jail.

According to court records, Ledoux drove into the United States on February 26, 2009 at the Route 5 Port-of-Entry in Derby Line. During a secondary inspection by a Customs and Border Protection Officer, 54 one-pound bags of marijuana were found concealed in various compartments within the van Ledoux was driving. In statements he made to federal agents following his arrest, Ledoux said that he expected to be paid $1500 to deliver the marijuana to a location in Massachusetts. He also admitted that, prior to this arrest, he had made several previous drug runs to the United States, for which he was paid $1500 each time.
In addition to the punishment in the criminal case, the Government is seeking forfeiture of Ledoux’s van as property which facilitated the drug-smuggling attempt.

Ledoux is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.