Man to be sentenced for role in smuggling ring

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A Canadian man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in what the U.S. Attorney's Office in Montana says is one of the largest drug cases it has ever handled.

U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon gave Christopher Chambers a lower sentence than federal guidelines recommend after Chambers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export cocaine.

Haddon said Monday he considered the fact that Chambers had no previous record and the support shown by about 30 friends and family members in the courtroom.

Prosecutors say Chambers was part of an international drug smuggling ring that moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and tens of thousands of tablets of the designer drug ecstasy from California into Canada through border crossings in Montana from 2009 until last fall.