Canadians face life sentences for drug ring based in Cornwall: reports

Canadians face life sentences for drug ring based in Cornwall: reports

CORNWALL, Ontario – A pair of Canadians that operated a marijuana trafficking operation out of Cornwall are facing a life sentence in a U.S. court according to U.S. media reports.

The duo, Michael C. Woods and Gaetan Dinelle, were convicted of multiple federal charges this week in Syracuse, including that they were leaders of a continuing criminal enterprise.

The sales from the drug ring totaled more than $47 million, the Watertown Daily Times reported.

The newspaper further reported the case involved the extradition of 15 people from Canada – the largest such use in a single case ever.

Woods and Dinelle apparently ran their operation from Cornwall for three years starting in 2005. The pair moved large quantities of marijuana into the U.S. via Akwesasne.

The marijuana was taken by couriers supervised by the pair to buyers throughout the Eastern United States.

The Daily Times also reported police seized nearly $2 million in cash and 400 kg of marijuana from couriers involved in the trafficking enterprise.

The pair will be sentenced in Syracuse in December.

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