How a cross-border conspiracy to smuggle drugs into B.C. on a Jet Ski unravelled

The drugs found near Port Angeles, Wash., and were bound for Canada in a failed smuggling attempt. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington)

A 67-year-old man who planned to use a Jet Ski to smuggle more than 180 kilograms of fentanyl and methamphetamine into Canada was convicted in a Seattle courtroom Friday, after beachcombers found the drugs stashed in several duffel bags along the Washington state coastline.

John Michael Sherwood was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering following a six-day trial.

The jury deliberated on the case for about three hours before reaching its verdict in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to the U.S. attorney's office for western Washington.

The court heard that Sherwood brought the drugs from California to Port Angeles, Wash., and planned to use a Jet Ski and an inflatable raft to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca to deliver the drugs to a contact on Vancouver Island.

His plan was foiled, however, on April 6, 2021, when a family camping on a beach west of Port Angeles found one of the duffel bags partially submerged in the tide.

They pulled the bag out of the water and left it on the beach for whoever might have left it. When the bag was still there the next morning, they opened it up and found what they believed to be drugs inside, according to court documents.

The family reported the find to authorities, who counted approximately 25 kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of powdered fentanyl inside.

Around the same time, another beachcomber grew suspicious when they saw a U-Haul van coming and going from the secluded beach where a deflated Zodiac-style raft was partially submerged in the water, according to testimony delivered at trial.

Four days after the discovery, seven more duffel bags were found by a beach-goer in the same area. The bags were found to contain approximately 155 kilograms of methamphetamine, according to authorities.

The local sheriff's office in Port Angeles estimated the total value of the drugs seized at US$7 million.

Bags traced to Walmart stores

The FBI got involved in the case and traced the purchase of the duffel bags to two Washington state Walmart stores, where Sherwood was recorded completing the sale using a debit card linked to a business he controlled.

Investigators say Sherwood was further linked to the smuggling attempt by U-Haul van rental records, his registration at a local motel, and the rental of a storage locker.

Phone records presented in court revealed Sherwood also communicated with his Canadian co-conspirator about their plan to meet up in the strait and exchange the drugs.

"His first attempt to smuggle the drugs in this fashion was unsuccessful, resulting in some of the drugs going into the water," the U.S. attorney's office said in its summary of the case filed in the district court earlier this month.

"Sherwood then staged the drugs he was able to preserve on the beach, likely preparatory to making a second attempt. However, the drugs were discovered before he could do so, and he fled the area."

Evidence presented at court shows Sherwood made it to Montana, where he crashed his pickup truck on a bridge over a river on April 13.

"A suitcase full of methamphetamine was found in the river downstream from the bridge shortly thereafter," the U.S. attorney said. "The government believes that Sherwood had taken some of the drugs with him from Washington and after the accident he ditched them into the river before officers could respond to the scene."

'Notorious' Canadian smuggler charged

British Columbia resident Kevin Christopher Gartry was charged as a co-conspirator in the case and is awaiting an extradition hearing before his trial can proceed.

The U.S. attorney's office alleges Gartry is a "notorious Canadian cross-border drug smuggler" who, in June 2012, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for using a Jet Ski to smuggle drugs across the Canada-U.S. maritime border.

Gartry and Sherwood were housed in the same unit in a Texas prison for six months starting in October 2019, according to court records, which also indicate Gartry was under surveillance by the RCMP at the time of the April 2021 smuggling attempt.

"During that time, Gartry was observed by Canadian law enforcement in the area of Langford and the Muir Creek Beach in British Columbia," according to the case summary. "This area is essentially directly across the strait from the area the methamphetamine was recovered. During this surveillance, Gartry was seen towing a boat trailer, and also near a Jet Ski."

Co-accused Erika A. Bocelle, of Rhode Island, pleaded guilty for her role in the smuggling attempt and is awaiting sentencing.

In a 2022 statement, the U.S. attorney's office said the defendants faced mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years to life in prison due to the quantities of drugs involved in the smuggling attempt.