Champion Mountain Biker Jailed in Huge Pot Bust

WTEN- Missy Giove, a retired world champion downhill mountain biker, is facing charges of conspiracy with intent to distribute hundreds of pounds of marijuana.

She and two others are in custody, following an investigation began in Illinois and ended in the Saratoga County town of Wilton.

Altogether, the Drug Enforcement Agency seized more than $1,000,000 in cash and close to 400 pounds of marijuana. The drugs alone have a street value of about $250,000.

Before her retirement in 2003, Giove, nicknamed "The Missile", was one of the most successful downhill mountain bikers in the world. Now, she faces an uphill battle against federal prosecutors and drug conspiracy charges.

Court documents detail how police tracked down Giove, who is from Virginia, in Wilton earlier this week.

Giove landed at the Albany International Airport Tuesday morning, days after another woman was arrested during a traffic stop in Illinois. That woman was driving a truck and trailer with more than 200 pounds of marijuana on its way to the Albany area.

Law enforcement picked the delivery up from there.

Back at the airport, police watched Giove get into a taxi, go to a nearby Hilton hotel and pick up the truck and trailer from a police informant. They say the trailer belonged to Giove.

Giove then drove to Wilton, where she dropped off the informant at a book store.

According to police, Giove then went across the street to a Hannaford parking lot to meet with Eric Canori, a Wilton resident, and the two drove to his house. Authorities add that some of the contents from the trailer were unloaded there and then Giove drove off.

Police finally stopped her in Saratoga Lake, found marijuana in the trailer and she was arrested

A police search of Canori's house yielded the $1,000,000 in cash and more than 150 pounds of marijuana.