Timothy M. Morneau, 31, Christian D. Laurin, 19, and Alan James Mulder, 19, all of Winnipeg, Manitoba, are accused of smuggling the drugs across the U.S.-Canada border into North Dakota on a snowmobile.On Feb. 9, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle near Glendive for having a headlight out. A search of the vehicle turned up at least 200,000 Ecstasy tablets, said Travis Pitts, a Laurel police officer and special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The tablets sell for about $25 each on the street.A criminal complaint charges the men with conspiracy to possess Ecstasy for distribution and possession with intent to distribute. If convicted, they face up to life in prison and a $4 million fine. The case will be submitted to a grand jury for indictment.
Jim Tilley, the DEA's resident agent in charge in Billings, said it was one of the largest Ecstasy seizures in the state. A bust near Sweetgrass netted 100,000 tablets.
Ecstasy, a stimulant and hallucinogen, is typically packaged in pound quantities, Tilley said. The drug is manufactured for about $3 a pill by labs in Canada and Amsterdam
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