By Canadian Press

U.S. ‘Godfather of Grass’ to remain detained in Montreal after Thursday arrest

Dec 23, 2016 | 1:00 PM

MONTREAL — An American man known as the “Godfather of Grass” will remain in detention in Montreal as he awaits extradition to the U.S., the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada said Friday.

A spokesman for the board said John Robert Boone was calm but refused to answer questions from border services agents during a detention review hearing Friday afternoon.

Boone was arrested without incident in Montreal on Thursday after eight years on the run, several months after police opened an investigation at the request of U.S. authorities.

In an email, board spokesman Christian Tessier said authorities considered Boone to be a flight risk with the means to go back underground if released.

He will remain in detention at least until his next hearing, scheduled for Dec. 29.

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The U.S. Marshals Service said Thursday that authorities had been seeking Boone since they seized 2,400 marijuana plants on his Kentucky farm in 2008.

Boone, 73, spent more than a decade in prison after being convicted in the 1980s in what prosecutors called the “largest domestic marijuana syndicate in American history.”

Montreal police opened an investigation in September after being contacted by American authorities who said they had reason to believe Boone was in Canada.

Police spokesman Jean-Pierre Brabant said earlier Friday that Boone was not facing charges in Canada.

Authorities say he crossed the border illegally and they don’t know how long he has been living in the country.

–With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

U.S. ‘Godfather of Grass’ to remain detained in Montreal after Thursday arrest

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