Montreal man gets 22 years in U.S. prison in transborder fentanyl distribution ring
CTV
A Quebec man has been sentenced to 22 years behind bars for his role in a global scheme to distribute fentanyl and other synthetic opioids throughout the United States, all of it orchestrated from inside a Canadian prison.
A Quebec man has been sentenced to 22 years behind bars for his role in a global scheme to distribute fentanyl and other synthetic opioids throughout the United States, all of it orchestrated from inside a Canadian prison.
Xuan Cahn Nguyen, 43, of Montreal, was extradited to the U.S. in 2021 along with another Canadian co-conspirator before pleading guilty last year to drug distribution and money laundering charges in Fargo, N.D.
Court documents say Nguyen, also known as "Jackie Chan," worked to assist the "organizers and leaders" of the drug distribution ring: Jason Berry and Daniel Vivas Ceron, both prisoners inside the medium-security Drummond Institution in Drummondville, Que.
Marie Um, 42, also of Montreal, whose alias was "Angry Bird," was found guilty on several similar counts in April as part of a task force investigation known as "Operation Denial," which led to charges against 34 defendants in North Dakota and Oregon.
Berry and Ceron are scheduled to be sentenced next week.
"Co-conspirators used computers to order and sell substances online using internet sites that are specifically designed to be hidden from the public," prosecutors said in Nguyen's plea agreement.
"Co-conspirators arranged to obtain controlled substances and controlled substance analogues from (places) outside the United States including, but not limited to, Canada and China."
