POSTED: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009
Border agents seize $2.6 million worth of Ecstasy in Whatcom County
One suspect remains at large after eluding high-speed chase

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped two attempts to smuggle 220,000 Ecstasy pills worth an estimated $2.6 million from Canada into Whatcom County

Wednesday night, Jan. 28.

They arrested a Bellingham man on a federal charge of drug possession with intent to deliver, while another suspect escaped arrest and likely remains at large.

The agents used border surveillance sensors and cameras to observe two cars, one near Sumas and the other on Mark Worth Road west of Lynden, near known smuggling routes, Border Patrol spokesman Mike Bermudez said.

Richard Scott Pacheco, 42, of Bellingham was arrested near Sumas after agents observed him drive to the border and have two unknown men load two suitcases into his trunk, said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle.

Agents pulled over Pacheco as he was leaving, and he consented to a search of his car, Langlie said. The suitcases contained 120,000 Ecstasy pills, worth about $1.4 million, Langlie said.

Pacheco said the suitcases did not belong to him and he didn't know what was in them, Langlie said.

Pacheco made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday afternoon and was charged with one count of possession of Ecstasy with intent to deliver. If convicted, he can face up to 20 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine, Langlie said.

On Mark Worth Road, the car was leaving as the agents arrived, and the driver took off after the agents attempted to stop the car, Bermudez said.

The suspect led agents on a high-speed chase across northwest Whatcom County before losing them on Mountain View Road west of Ferndale.

Ferndale police officers later found the car abandoned on Elder Road, between Thorton and Mountain View roads, Bermudez said.

A U.S. Border Patrol canine unit detected the presence of narcotics in the car. They found 20 large, vacuum-sealed bags filled with 100,000 Ecstasy pills, worth about $1.2 million, in the trunk, Bermudez said.

Bermudez would not say whether the suspect has been arrested.

Langlie said that Pacheco was the only person from Whatcom County to make a first appearance on drug charges in U.S. District Court on Thursday, indicating that the second suspect is likely still at large. Federal law requires suspects to make an appearance in court within 24 hours of their arrest, Langlie said.

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