Police seize almost 7,000 pounds of cannabis from a truck. But the company that bought it says it's all legal

(CNN)Idaho State Police says it seized 6,701 pounds of illicit marijuana from a truck passing through the state last month. The Colorado company that bought the plants in Oregon says it's legal hemp. But the truck driver caught in the middle is now facing felony marijuana trafficking charges.

Rolling into the East Boise Point of Entry weigh station on January 24, Denis Palamarchuck's tractor-trailer was stopped by an Idaho state trooper to conduct a routine inspection. The truck's bill of lading listed the goods being hauled as hemp.

Palamarchuck's Bill of Lading.

"However, the trooper's training and experience made him suspicious that the cargo was in fact marijuana, not industrial hemp," the Idaho State Police wrote in a news release.
The officer opened up one of the 31 shipping bags in the rig and, using a Narcotic Identification Kit, tested a sample that came back positive for THC, the mind-altering chemical in marijuana. A drug-sniffing canine also "demonstrated a positive alert on the cargo," state police said.

Palamarchuck was immediately arrested and charged with felony trafficking of marijuana.

Court records indicate Palamarchuck spent four days in jail after the arrest. Jim Ball, Palamarchuck's attorney, told CNN his client was released after posting a $100,000 bond.

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