'Godfather of grass' ordered back to US after arrest in Montreal

The "Godfather of Grass"may soon be Kentucky-bound following his arrest in Montreal in December.

John Robert Boone, who had been on the run from U.S. authorities for eight years, was ordered back to the United States Thursday by an Immigration and Refugee Board tribunal.

The 73-year-old has 30 days to appeal the decision and will remain in custody at the Rivire-des-Prairiesdetention centre.

• JohnnyBoone, Kentucky's 'Godfather of Grass,' arrested in Montreal

Booneis wanted in Kentucky, where police found more than 2,000 marijuana plants on a farm that he owned in 2008.

American authorities contacted Montreal police last year with information that Boone was in town. He was nabbed Dec. 22 at a shopping centre in downtown Montreal.

It's not known how long he was in Canada, and he doesn't face any charges here.

Head of 'Cornbread Mafia'

Boone spent more than a decade in federal prison after being convicted in the 1980s in what prosecutors called the "largest domestic marijuana syndicate in American history."

Prosecutors said he had 29 farms in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Wisconsin.

The group became known as the "Cornbread Mafia," and prosecutors said Boone was the leader.