BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – Two Canadian truckers pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that they tried to smuggle about 190 pounds of marijuana into the United States in a hidden compartment in their vehicle, prosecutors say.

Dany LeClerc, 35, of Laval, Quebec, and Pierre Boily, 38, of LeGardeur, Quebec, entered the pleas Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

Court records say the two were arrested Aug. 6 at the Highgate Springs port of entry. The two were in a commercial tractor-trailer car carrier.

They told Customs agents they were headed to Boston to retrieve a load of rental cars that they planned to bring back to Canada, the United States attorney’s office says.

The two expected to be paid $40,000 for smuggling the marijuana into the United States, prosecutors say.

If convicted LeClerc and Boily are facing up to five years in prison and $250,000 fines.

AP-ES-09-01-04 1938EDT