3 more arrests in alleged international drug ring

7/21/2007, 9:58 p.m. PDT
The Associated Press

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — Three more men have been arrested on charges resulting from an investigation into what federal prosecutors say was a multimillion-dollar international drug ring.

James Leroy Glines, 58, of Charleston was arrested last month, according to a federal arrest warrant issued in U.S. District Court in Idaho and Douglas County Jail records.

Glines faces charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to launder money, in a scheme that federal prosecutors say involved the distribution of more than $20 million worth of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine over more than 30 years.

A second man, Forest G. McDonald, who was arrested June 28 in Grants Pass, faces the same charges as Glines.

Lawrence Edward Weitzman, arrested July 12 in Idaho, is accused of conspiracy to launder money.

Twelve others, many of whom grew up in the Days Creek area, were arrested in September 2006. The men are accused of operating a drug ring that involved growing large quantities of marijuana domestically as well as importing drugs from Mexico and South America.

Prosecutors say the profits were laundered into legitimate businesses as a cover-up.

Former Days Creek resident, Kent Allen Jones, is believed to have headed up the operation. Jones and five others face the charge of operating a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, along with other charges.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boise, Idaho.