October 22, 2009
Jubel Thomas Joy
Colombian cocaine kingpin gets 45 years in US jail
MIAMI – A court in Miami sentenced Colombian drug kingpin Diego Montoya to 45 years in prison following his guilty plea on trafficking, murder and racketeering charges.
Montoya, 48, whose Norte del Valle cartel once supplied well over half the Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States and Europe, had agreed to serve the time as part of a plea deal back in August.
Once an FBI top-ten fugitive, he also signed a document detailing his rise to the top of Colombia's cocaine underworld.
Prosecutors estimate that between 1990 and 2004, Norte del Valle exported more than 1.2 million pounds (500 tonnes) of cocaine, worth in excess of 10 billion dollars, from Colombia to the United States. Read More
Montoya, 48, whose Norte del Valle cartel once supplied well over half the Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States and Europe, had agreed to serve the time as part of a plea deal back in August.
Once an FBI top-ten fugitive, he also signed a document detailing his rise to the top of Colombia's cocaine underworld.
Prosecutors estimate that between 1990 and 2004, Norte del Valle exported more than 1.2 million pounds (500 tonnes) of cocaine, worth in excess of 10 billion dollars, from Colombia to the United States. Read More
