U.S. man sentenced to 15 years in drug smuggling case
U.S. man sentenced for meth and fentanyl smuggling after a failed Canada run Prosecutors say 300 kg was bound for Vancouver Island—see how the case unfolded
A U.S. man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a failed attempt to smuggle methamphetamine and fentanyl into Canada, according to prosecutors.
Authorities said the drugs, weighing about 300 kilograms in total, were intended for Vancouver Island and were found after duffel bags washed ashore near Port Angeles, Washington, in 2021. Investigators later linked the case to John Michael Sherwood, who prosecutors said planned to tow the shipment across the Strait of Juan de Fuca using a jet ski and an inflatable raft.
Officials said surveillance video, text messages, cellphone data, and RCMP monitoring helped piece together the crossborder operation. U.S. prosecutors also charged another person, Kevin Gartry, alleging he was waiting to receive the drugs on southern Vancouver Island. Sherwood, who is 69, received the sentence in U.S. federal court.