More Amtrak pot bust details arise

New details have surfaced concerning the man who is being held on suspicion of carrying dangerous drugs on a train in October.

Mohamed Yasin Aboubaker, born in 1981, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been charged with two counts of criminal possession with intent to distribute and one count of carrying dangerous drugs on a train.

Aboubaker was in the Hill County Detention Center this morning on $75,000 bond. His trial is scheduled for May 27.

According to court documents, on Oct. 16 Amtrak personnel contacted authorities to report an individual who smelled of marijuana.

U.S. Border Patrol agents confronted Aboubaker when the train arrived at Havre at around noon that day. Aboubaker was at first released and continued on his westward trip, however authorities held his luggage pending a search warrant.

While agents were applying for the search warrant, surveillance was done on Aboubaker. He went to an ATM and paid an unmarked “taxi” $150 to transport him to Malta.

When the search warrant was granted, a search of his belongings revealed 17 pounds of marijuana, 12 pounds of marijuana-infused foods and 144.2 grams of hash oil, which is a potent form of marijuana that is made by chemically processing the drug with a solvent such as alcohol.

An assisting officer then pulled over the vehicle and an agent arrested Aboubaker on felony charges of possession of dangerous drugs, possession with intent to distribute and carrying dangerous drugs on a train. He was found with $1,426 in cash.

Aboubaker was then transported to the Hill County Detention Center.

The court documents go on to say that a criminal history check revealed Aboubaker was sentenced for felony possession in Minnesota Sept. 30. Part of that sentence’s conditions prohibited Aboubaker from possessing dangerous drugs without a prescription.

If convicted, Aboubaker faces five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.