Two men who tried to smuggle more than a tonne of cocaine into B.C. on a sailboat have been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Scott Pedersen of Port Hardy and Mexican national Vincente Serrano-Hernandez were sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, and will face 14 years and seven months behind bars when time already served is factored in.
Pedersen and Serrano-Hernandez were arrested in Port Hardy on March 6, 2010, after Mounties discovered the massive stash hidden on their 50-foot vessel, the Huntress.
An agent from the RCMP's federal drug enforcement branch estimated the stash was worth upwards of $50 million. The bust is believed to be one of the biggest in B.C. history.
The men raised authorities' suspicions after giving false information when they were hailed by marine security off the coast of Vancouver Island. They had sailed all the way from Panama.
With files from The Canadian Press
