United Nations Gang founder Clay Roueche pleaded guilty to three charges connected to an international drug trafficking ring at a U.S. District Court in Seattle on Tuesday.
The charges included conspiracy to export cocaine, conspiracy to import marijuana using small planes and helicopters, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Two other charges were dismissed.
Roueche is due to be sentenced on September 18, and faces a prison term of no less than 10 years and up to life in prison.
The gang boss seemed relaxed, and was laughing and smiling prior to the hearing.
Roueche was nabbed by U.S. authorities in May last year after failing to gain entry into Mexico to attend a wedding.
Canadian police investigators tipped off their Mexican and American counterparts and Roueche was turned away at the Mexican border.
His return flight to Canada included a stopover in Texas, where he was arrested.
Last June, Roueche entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.
For much his incarceration, he was held in the Special Housing Unit in the Federal Detention Center in Seattle and was in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
The U.N. Gang, whose members are said to be part of a recent vicious and deadly gang war in B.C., has been brazen enough to stamp their logo on the cocaine that it ships.
With files by The Canadian Press.
