KELOWNA — A West Kelowna man shrugged his shoulders after being sentenced Wednesday for his role in smuggling a large amount of cocaine from Argentina into the Okanagan four years ago.
Clifford Roger Montgomery, 37, was sentenced to 13.8 years in prison Wednesday after being found guilty of possession and intention to traffic nearly 100 kilograms of cocaine by hiding the drug in an industrial fruit grinder.
The machine was shipped to Kelowna in September 2010 when it was intercepted by RCMP. The street value of the drugs was estimated at $3.5 million. The drug was detected by customs officials who replaced the cocaine with a placebo and inserted a listening device in the grinder.
Montgomery, who was seen as the ringleader, was working with Tariz Mohammed Aslam of Surrey and Salvador Ascencio-Chavez from Mexico. Chavez was earlier sentenced to 13 years in prison. Aslam will be sentenced next week.
Montgomery has a previous criminal record, mostly for property crimes.
In handing down sentence, the judge noted Montgomery has failed to show any remorse, he tried to import a large amount of cocaine and the cocaine was nearly pure.
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