A 67-year-old American man has been convicted in Seattle of three felonies related to his failed plan to smuggle duffle bags packed with illicit drugs to Vancouver Island from Washington state via a jet ski and inflatable raft.
John Michael Sherwood was convicted in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
The jury deliberated about three hours before reaching the guilty verdict. Judge James L. Robart scheduled sentencing for Oct. 29.
The court heard that Sherwood had brought the drugs to the Olympic Peninsula from southern California and planned to use a jet ski and inflatable raft to haul them across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to a contact on Vancouver Island, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said in a statement.
But the plan unravelled after duffle bags filled with drugs were discovered in three separate incidents on beaches near Port Angeles in the spring of 2021.
On April 7, a family discovered a partially submerged duffle bag and called law enforcement. More than 50 pounds of methamphetamine was found inside the bag, as well as two pounds of fentanyl powder.
Another beachcomber found a partially submerged and deflated Zodiac-style raft on the beach and spotted a U-Haul van coming and going from the beach area, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Then on April 11, a different beach walker found seven more duffle bags stashed under a bridge close to the beach. The bags held 342 pounds of methamphetamine.
The estimated wholesale value of the drugs in Canada was about $1.5 million.
The FBI traced the duffle bags to a Walmart and were able to determine that Sherwood had used his debit card to buy the bags, and was seen on surveillance video making the purchases.
Van-rental records, motel registration and storage-locker records also connected him to the smuggling scheme.
Phone records revealed that he was communicating with a co-conspirator in Canada about the smuggling plan.
Several U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies worked together on the investigation, from the FBI to the RCMP and U.S. Border Patrol.
