An American senior who planned to smuggle nearly 400 pounds of drugs to Vancouver Island with a jet ski towing an inflatable raft was convicted last week.
On April 7, 2021 a family on a beach near Port Angeles, Washington found a partially-submerged duffel bag. Law enforcement found 50 pounds of methamphetamines and two pounds of fentanyl powder inside. A raft was located nearby after another person reported a U-Haul van visiting the area repeatedly.
Days later, another beachcomber found seven duffel bags under a bridge, stuffed with 342 pounds of meth.
The FBI traced the duffel bags to Walmart and were able to identify 67-year-old John Michael Sherwood using his debit card to buy them.
Surveillance footage from Walmart along with evidence such as U-Haul rental records, motel registration, and storage locker records linked Sherwood to the smuggling attempt. Phone records revealed his communication with a coconspirator in Canada about the attempt to smuggle the drugs into Canada via the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The estimated value of the drugs was $1.5 million USD.
At trial, testimony and evidence revealed Sherwood had brought the drugs from California to the Olympic Peninsula.
He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
The FBI, Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and other American law enforcement agencies were involved along with the RCMP.
Sherwood will be sentenced later this fall.
