BURLINGTON, VT. Federal prosecutors say a Vermont man who authorities say was involved in a scheme to illegally transport hundreds of kilograms of marijuana from Canada into the United States using a sled move it across a frozen lake on the border.
Jack M. Cohen, 36, of Hyde Park, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Burlington to a term of one day and three years of probation, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office in Vermont. .
Prosecutors said Cohen was arrested by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the Canaan border community on March 24 with 123 kilograms of marijuana packed in duffel bags on the bed of his truck. .
Cohen had just left an empty camp along Wallace Lake, also known as Wallace Pond, where he met other people who had used sleds to pull sleds to ferry marijuana from the shores of Canada’s lake to the American side. prosecutor said.
Prosecutors said he had made at least two previous visits to the camp to bring pots across the border, totaling about 400 kilograms of marijuana.
Cohen pleaded guilty to importing more than 50 kilograms of marijuana into the United States.
US Attorney Jonathan Ophardt said in a statement: “The cross-border smuggling activities of organized crime businesses and the export of large amounts of their secret cash compromises national security. our nations and sabotage our relations with international partners.”
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