6 Canadians Arrested in Compton Hashish Bust

Six Canadian nationals, suspected of operating a major hashish pipeline from the U.S. to Canada, were arrested Thursday in Compton after delivering $1 million in U.S. currency to federal agents posing as drug suppliers.

The suspects, unaware that they were ensnarled in an undercover sting operation, had planned to smuggle the drugs across the border, according to federal authorities.

Early Thursday morning, two of the suspects drove an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig to an industrial park in Compton, intending to load 3,000 pounds of hashish into secret compartments built into the walls of their $200,000 truck.

But U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, culminating a four-month joint undercover operation, were waiting near a warehouse used as a front by law enforcement agencies. Several of the suspects were arrested there, while the others were taken into custody in Long Beach.

Two of the suspects, Steven Petroff, 34, and Robert Duncan, 36, were identified by authorities as “the No. 1 and No. 2 hashish distributors” in Ontario province. Also arrested were Paul Ross, 34, Edward Somers, 40, David Boynton, 40, and Peter Blacklock, 41, all identified as Canadians.

“This is a very significant bust,” said Sgt. Lee Joubert of the Mounted Police. “They are considered major traffickers in the Toronto area.”

Authorities said Petroff and Duncan, seeking major hashish suppliers to expand their Canadian operations, were lured to Los Angeles twice in the last month by undercover agents. Authorities said an investigation will continue into how the group was able to acquire $1,020,000 in fresh $100 bills with serial numbers in perfect sequence.

“The money had never been circulated, and that’s very unusual,” said David Westrate, a DEA administrator in Washington.