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Bankrupt Trucker Gets 10 Years For $6 Million Drug Smuggling Attempt

Published:

Yesterday a judge sentenced a bankrupt trucker to 10 years in prison for possession of more than $6 million worth of drugs with the intent to distribute.

Trucker Caught Trying To Smuggle Cocaine And Meth Across Ambassador Bridge

Wayne Douglas Rutherford, 63, pled guilty in March to attempting to traffic 47 kilograms of cocaine and 17 kilograms of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment along with a load of tomatoes from Sacramento across the Ambassador Bridge in August 2013.

Rutherford was caught when officials X-rayed the truck and discovered the drugs, which have a street value of around $6 million.

Judge Says Bankrupt Trucker Was Trying To Get His Life Back After Financial Struggles

The Superior Court Justice Christopher Bondy said that the harsh 10 year sentence for the 63 year old trucker was necessary because of the societal dangers caused by drug use.

However, Bondy also acknowledged that Rutherford was a family man who had been married for 30 years with three children. Bondy said that he believed that Rutherford was trying to make up for some of the losses he had suffered over the years. Rutherford had lost his trucking company, two farms, and his home to bankruptcy.

Rutherford told the judge, “I know I broke the law, I know I made a mistake. Most of my life I never broke the law and I always tried to help my friends. I know I made a mistake and I know I have to pay for it.

Sources:
The Windsor Star

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