Canadian man who was arrested in Bellingham with 400 pounds of cocaine was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison

Canadian man who was arrested in Bellingham with 400 pounds of cocaine was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Friday, May 13.

Curtis McLay of Abbotsford, B.C., had previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possessing the cocaine, which federal prosecutors estimate was worth about $7 million, with intent to distribute it.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested McLay and another woman, Leah Norton, outside of a restaurant on Meridian Street Dec. 6.

The agents approached McLay as he exited the restaurant and asked for identification. He said he didn't have any but told them he was Canadian.

They asked how he entered the U.S. without identification; he told them he just walked through a field. The agents arrested him at that point and searched a truck they had seen him drive.

Inside they found 184 bricks of cocaine that weighed about two pounds each. McLay was wearing a set of military dog tags; one had the name and phone number of his attorney imprinted on it.

According to documents filed in federal court:

In an interview with investigators in February while in custody, Norton admitted her involvement in smuggling the drugs.

She said the cocaine came up from California and was being stored at a cottage on Lummi Island before McLay and another person could transport it to Canada on personal watercraft.

McLay and that person arrived on the watercraft, but one began taking on water and had to be scuttled.

ICE agents found both machines scuttled in Hale Passage.

Norton said they devised a new plan to smuggle the drugs into Canada by driving them to a spot in eastern Whatcom County along the border.

Someone would cross the border, pick up the drugs and transport them into Canada, Norton said.

They drove up to the area but left after hearing on their radios that the U.S. Border Patrol was in the area. They returned to Bellingham and were arrested.

Norton pleaded guilty in March and is set to be sentenced May 27.