World

Drug trafficker jailed

08:54 am on 29 April 2009

A Colombian drug trafficker implicated in the export of hundreds of tonnes of cocaine to the US has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a court in Miami.

Eugenio Montoya, 39, admitted he handled the finances for the North Valley cartel.

The gang dominated the cocaine trade after the dismantling of the Medellin and Cali cartels in the 1990s.

Montoya's eldest brother, Diego Montoya, is awaiting trial in the US after being captured by the Colombian military in late 2007.

Two other members of the family have already been sentenced to long prison terms.

Montoya pleaded guilty in January to charges of drug trafficking and obstruction of justice. He was captured in January 2007 in the town of El Dovio, 200km west of the capital Bogota.