Canadian man caught smuggling meth off U.S. coast sentenced to over 3 years in prison | Video

Canadian man caught smuggling meth off U.S. coast sentenced to over 3 years in prison | Video |

A Canadian man who pleaded guilty after getting caught

off the coast of Oregon with nearly 200 gallons of liquid meth in his sailboat last year has been sentenced to over three years behind bars.

John Philip Stirling, a 66-year-old originally from British Columbia, was handed a 40-month prison sentence and five years supervised release Thursday for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced.

Before learning of his sentence, Stirling told the Portland, Ore., court by video conference he had been threatened by a Colombia drug cartel to make the fateful voyage that led to his arrest, after losing millions of dollars worth of cocaine in an earlier smuggling attempt.

Stirling was arrested after his sailing vessel, the Mandalay, was discovered travelling north near Newport on April 9, 2019. Coast Guard officials stopped Stirling’s boat and came aboard, where they found 28 seven-gallon jugs of liquid meth.

At the time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Stirling refused to provide documentation to Coast Guard officials.

“Upon further questioning, Stirling’s speech began to deteriorate and he displayed signs of a possible drug overdose,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Stirling was later airlifted to hospital for treatment.

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According to court documents filed at an April 2019 court appearance, Stirling told nurses he had taken a “large amount” of fentanyl. He also said he was a “drug smuggler” and he didn’t want to go to jail for the rest of his life, according to the documents.

At the time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Stirling refused to provide documentation to Coast Guard officials.

“Upon further questioning, Stirling’s speech began to deteriorate and he displayed signs of a possible drug overdose,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Stirling was later airlifted to hospital for treatment.

Stirling has recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for not doing enough to protect him from contracting COVID-19, arguing his diabetes puts him at greater risk.

He’s also filed a second, handwritten lawsuit seeking $30 million in damages from the Chinese government, who he blames for the pandemic.

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