Kirkland Man Allegedly Headed U.S. Side of Drug Smuggling Ring

A Kirkland man who authorities say headed the American side of an international drug ring is behind bars after a federal investigation that also resulted in charges against 23 others, according to a story by Seattlepi.com.

U.S. attorneys in Seattle say Jacob Stuart, 39, led the U.S. part of a drug network that smuggled 100 to 200 pounds of marijuana from Canada and moved 100 to 200 kilograms of cocaine north every month, according to the story.

According to court documents, the ring smuggled pot south in hidden in manure trucks, then distributed it around the country in private planes, allegedly working with a Hells Angels associate. The recently unsealed documents say the network was caught on tapped phones, also discussing a kidnapping.

The cocaine was moved north from California to Canada by car or plane, the seattlepi.com story reported. The network reportedly distributed marijuana to California, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia and New Jersey.

Federal prosecutors, according to the court documents, said: “Stuart was the stateside leader of the drug organization, responsible for organizing the nationwide distribution of large amounts of cocaine and marijuana. He was intercepted discussing violent acts to be directed at various people who owed the organization money.”

Nearly $2 million has been seized from the accused, as well as 300 pounds of cocaine, according to charging documents. Agents also seized 1,500 pounds of cocaine on April 28 in a series of raids related to the investigation.

In the federal prosecutors’ statements, filed with the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, a Seattle-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent said the investigation began in January 2010 after reports of a pot trafficking ring using private planes.

According to the story, investigators obtained court permission to tap a number of cell phones and were eventually able to identify Stuart as the head of the network, the agent told the court.

“Jacob Stuart has been involved in drug trafficking for approximately 20 years,” said the agent, who is assigned to the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations division. “Stuart lives well beyond his apparent means and has no legitimate source of employment.”