"Operation Frozen Timber" led authorities to the
Okanogan National Forest where undercover HSI
special agents observed Rosenau and his
co-conspirators smuggling B.C. Bud marijuana
into the United States and cocaine into Canada
using helicopters. The first of its kind
investigation led HSI to develop new techniques
to detect and suppress this type of border
smuggling.
"The remote forest areas that concealed
Rosenau's and his co-conspirators' smuggling
operation also provided law enforcement with the
perfect platform to observe their criminal
activity," said Brad Bench special agent in
charge of HSI Seattle. "Rosenau was the air
courier service to several transnational
criminal organizations. While he was busy
turning drug smuggling by helicopter into a
growth industry, HSI and its border enforcement
partners were building the case that dismantled
his criminal enterprise and brought him to
justice."
In his plea agreement, Rosenau admitted that,
between 2000 and 2005, he flew dozens of loads
of marijuana into forested areas in western and
eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana. He also
smuggled Canadians across the border into the
U.S. to work as drug mules to transport their
illicit cargo across the United States.
Investigators say he ran his smuggling operation
from his home-based heliport, landing as many as
five helicopters in the front yard of his remote
property in British Columbia.
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