Airport drug smuggler loses big forfeiture

A 40-year-old Washington man who was charged with trying to smuggle drugs aboard a plane at Glacier Park International Airport last year was given a suspended sentence. He also lost the $33,400 he had in his luggage.

Gradon Barstad, of Bellingham, Wash., was arrested Oct. 29, 2010, after federal Transportation Security Administration personnel found eight to 10 grams of hashish tied to his genital piercing.

Barstad was initially charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and faced up to five years in state prison and a $50,000 fine. His priors included drug possession, no valid driver's license and no insurance charges in Washington.

In a plea bargain, Barstad agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of dangerous drugs and to forfeit the $33,400 found in his luggage. Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart Stadler sentenced Barstad on May 13 to six months in jail, all suspended, a $100 fine and $150 in public defender fees.