B.C. man gets seven-year sentence in U.S. for attempting to smuggle ecstasy

The U.S. Department of Justice says a British Columbia man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for attempting to smuggle ecstasy into Washington state by hiking across rural terrain
at the border.

The department says 41-year-old Nathan Hall tried to bring more than 20 kilograms of ecstasy into the United States in April 2013.

It says in a news release Hall was identified by his co-defendant, Border Patrol agents and information in a backpack that was dropped at the scene.

The department says Hall dropped his backpack near Sumas, Wash., before running back into Canada and was extradited five years later.

He pleaded guilty in November 2018 to conspiracy to distribute ecstasy and possession of a firearm.

It says the other man was arrested and handed a 10-year sentence.

The department says the men were members of a group that smuggled ecstasy being transported to California.