Drugs found in unlikely hiding place

A man arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle hashish through Glacier Park International Airport is accused of hiding it in an unlikely place.

According to court documents, 39-year-old Gradon Barstad was caught with the cannabinoid drug when it was found tied to a genital piercing.

Airport security and Transportation Security Administration personnel contacted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office at about 7:35 a.m. on Oct. 29 after Barstad was caught with the substance while going through a security checkpoint.

Undersheriff Pete Wingert said the substance was found during a pat-down by airport security. Barstad was attempting to board a flight.

Barstad, a Bellingham, Wash. resident, allegedly admitted that the substance was hashish and weighed approximately eight to 10 grams.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office filed a charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs Nov. 1 in District Court.

The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison and a fine of $50,000. Barstad has not yet pleaded to the charge.

He’s currently being held in the Flathead County Detention Center with bail set at $30,000.

Wingert said drug arrests at the airport are relatively rare.

The last major incident, Wingert said, was in 2004 when a Kalispell man was arrested for allegedly attempting to board a commercial airplane carrying components for a meth lab.