Las Vegas-area traffic stop leads to Canadian drug ring busts

A Canadian man busted outside Las Vegas 15 months ago ferrying 99 pounds of cocaine to Calgary has led Canadian and U.S. authorities to break up a multi-million dollar drug ring.

Earlier this month the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, made up of members from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other police agencies, arrested Christopher Mark Scher, 33, Michael Mirr Janecek, 37, and Steven Manuel Doporto, 31, on drug trafficking charges following a lengthy investigation with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

But it all started with a pickup truck speeding on Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas in October 2012.

Austin William Hill, now 32, was nervous, pale and sweating after a Nevada Highway Patrol officer pulled his pickup over for travelling 10 mph above the posted 65 mph speed limit.

Hill said he had driven to St. George, Utah, from the Canadian province of Alberta to buy a vehicle. Because there was an issue with the vehicle’s title, Hill told authorities he had come to Las Vegas for the night. He said he was on his way back to St. George to finish the purchase when he was pulled over.

The patrolman was about to let Hill go with a warning when he asked him whether he had any drugs in the vehicle. Hill responded, “No and (expletive) no,” the report said.

A narcotics K-9 named Bebe was called in and discovered a compartment underneath the bed of the pickup. Inside the compartment were 63 vacuum-sealed bundles of cocaine. Hill had about $12,500 in cash.

DEA agents, based on their investigation into Hill, alerted Alberta investigators that the cocaine shipment was headed to Calgary.

Clark County prosecutors quickly indicted Hill on drug trafficking charges. He initially pleaded not guilty and was ordered held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

But in March 2013, he changed his mind. Hill pleaded guilty to new charges, though it’s unclear what charges. Both the guilty plea agreement and new indictment were filed under seal, court records show.

Hill was soon released on $30,000 bail.

Ten months later Canadian authorities identified Scher, Janecek, and Doporto as the leaders of a major cocaine distribution and smuggling ring and arrested them Jan. 15.

Hill still awaits a sentencing hearing set for March 24 before District Judge David Barker.

Hill’s lawyer Robert Purdy did not return a call seeking comment.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.