Canadian Man Pleads Guilty To Marijuana Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jean Luc Gaudreau, 39, of Ottawa, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to importing more than 100 kilograms of marijuana into the United States. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Bonanno and Patricia Astorga, who are handling the case, stated that on February 1, 2006, the defendant imported approximately 498 pounds of marijuana into the United States from Canada at the Lewiston Bridge Port-of-Entry. During primary inspection, Gaudreau, a Canadian citizen and truck driver for a Canadian freight company, gave a Customs and Border Protection officer a manifest listing four shipments. During a secondary inspection, CBP officers performed a gamma ray scan of the defendant’s truck, which revealed a fifth shipment in the truck that was not listed on the manifest. The fifth shipment comprised 14 cardboard boxes filled with vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana.

The plea is the result of an investigation by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Rose Brophy, Director of Field Operations, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2018, before Judge Arcara.