Leader of drug ring in ND, MN sentenced to prison

Published 10:01 am Tuesday, June 25, 2013

FARGO, N.D. — A man who admitted forming a ring that supplied drugs across North Dakota and Minnesota has been sentenced to federal prison.

Twenty-seven-year-old Noah Bergland, of Roseau, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Fargo, N.D., on Monday to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to forfeit $250,000 in drug money to the government.

Bergland earlier pleaded guilty to charges of operating a continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering conspiracy. Authorities say he conspired with 30 others to bring cocaine, heroin, marijuana and Ecstasy from the Minneapolis area to various cities in Minnesota and North Dakota. The other defendants have reached deals with prosecutors and only a handful still await sentencing.

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Authorities dubbed the conspiracy investigation Operation Noah’s Ark, after Bergland.