Drug smuggler gets seven-year term

A Canadian man arrested after a failed ecstasy-smuggling run across the Canada-U.S. border has been sentenced to seven years.

Nathan John Hall, 41, was arrested in Abbotsford in April 2013 after he and another smuggler tried to bring more than 20 kilograms of ecstasy into the U.S. On Friday, he was given a seven-year prison sentence at the U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. His B.C. associate Jeffrey Laviolette was arrested on the U.S. side of the border, as were two accused American co-conspirators. Laviolette was earlier given a 10year sentence.

The department said Hall was identified by Laviolette, border patrol agents and information in a backpack he dropped at the scene.

Authorities believe he fired a shot when confronted by agents.

“Hall denies he was the gunman but admits that he did carry a firearm on an earlier smuggling run in March 2013,” the department said. “The presence of the firearm strapped to his thigh was captured by a trail camera near the border.”

A U.S. district judge noted at Hall’s sentencing that he “has a history of chronic lying, using fake ID, and ignoring court orders,” the department said.

Hall is a Canadian citizen. B.C. court records show he has an extensive criminal record in Metro Vancouver. The department said records filed for Hall’s case indicated he was a member of a group that transported ecstasy in backpacks across rough terrain at the border, to be distributed in California.

The records say that on April 2013, Hall and Laviolette were on a smuggling run near Sumas, Wash., when they were confronted by border patrol agents. Hall reportedly fired a shot, dropped his backpack and ran back into Canada. The backpack contained identification including Hall’s photo, but with a fake name. Hall was arrested in Abbotsford and the process to extradite him from Canada took more than five years. Last November, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute MDMA and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drugtrafficking offence.

The department said Hall will likely be deported following his prison term, but can petition for treaty transfer back to Canada.

U.S. police and officials worked on the case with the Abbotsford Police Department and RCMP.