B.C. man pleads guilty to distributing drugs for Hells Angels

By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
P-I REPORTER

A British Columbia man pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to federal charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine and high-quality marijuana on behalf of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club.

Robert Shannon, 38, also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to engage in money laundering. A number of documents in the case remain sealed, suggesting the possibility that the investigation is continuing.

An earlier indictment in the case describes Shannon as "the principal overseer of the North American narcotics transportation group" that smuggled high-potency marijuana across the border in "hollowed out logs, within the false walls of cargo containers and vehicles, within loads of commercial lumber and beauty bark, inside large PVC pipes" and inside a propane tanker. That indictment specifies that on six occasions known to agents, Shannon arranged for the smuggling of 3,893 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

Shannon faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced in March.

He was arrested in June by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a three-year investigation that resulted in charges being brought against 40 people and the seizure of more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine, 7,000 pounds of marijuana and about $3.5 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

A co-defendant in the case, Devron Quast, 38, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Shannon in November. Quast, the former General Manager of Don Quast Hyundai, oversaw the day-to-day operations of the drug transportation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
P-I reporter Paul Shukovsky can be reached at 206-448-8072 or paulshukovsky@seattlepi.com.