B.C. gang leader sentenced to 30 years

B.C. gang leader Clay Roueche has been sentenced to 30 years in prisonafter pleading guilty to drug-trafficking charges in the U.S.

The sentence was handed down by a Seattle judgeWednesday who said he was convinced Roueche"took orders from no one" in his position atop the violent United Nations gang so called because it welcomed all nationalities into its membership.

The 35-year-old resident of B.C.'s Fraser Valley was arrested in the United States and pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to use small planes and helicopters to import more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana into the U.S. and to export cocaine to Canada.

Federal prosecutors in Washington state had asked for a 30-year sentence.

"We think it's wholly appropriate given the level of his drug smuggling and the organized criminal ties that he serve 30 years in prison," said Emily Langley, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Roueche was arrested in May 2008 after trying to enter Mexico on a flight from Canada. Hewas put on a flight back to Canada that had a stopover in Texas, where he was arrested by U.S. police.

International investigation

Authorities on both sides of the border co-operated in the investigation, Langley said.

"Mr. Roueche is tied to a great deal of cocaine going from this state into Canada, as well as marijuana going south," she said. "According to information that was provided by Canadian investigators, the UN gang is implicated in a great deal of violence in British Columbia."

Lower Mainland police have alleged Roueche and hisganghave engaged in a deadly struggle with the rival Red Scorpions and other gangs for control of the illegal drug trade.

Police have blamed the gang war for some of the more than 20 fatal shootings across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in the past year.