A Maple Ridge, B.C., man has been sentenced to 20 years in U.S. prison for drug trafficking.
Robert Shannon, convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and money laundering, was in charge of smuggling tens of thousands of pounds of drugs for the Hells Angles motorcycle gang, according to case files.
This conspiracy is a "terrible offense," said Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik in a press release.
"You can't run a drug organization like this without scary, violent people around you," Lasnik said.
Drugs were smuggled in hollowed out logs on trucks, within false walls of cargo containers and vehicles, in large PVC pipes, and within the interior of a propane tanker.
Shannon was arrested last June after a three year investigation, and is currently being held in a Washington prison.
Devron D. Quast of Abbotsford, B.C. was also arrested in the same investigation, which involved undercover police and resulted in the seizure of more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine, 7,000 pounds of B,C. bud and about $3.5 million in cash.
Quast is scheduled for sentencing next month.
The convicts may seek to be moved into a Canadian prison, but U.S. authorities say they would oppose such a move.
"Criminals who seek to profit by attacking the border security of the U.S. and Canada, should not be able to further exploit their citizenship to avoid paying for their crimes," said United States Attorney Jeffrey C. Sullivan in a press release.
So far, 39 defendants have been charged in connection with the investigation -- 12 of them are Canadian.
