BUFFALO, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A Derby, New York married couple were sentenced on Thursday to bring to a successful conclusion a lengthy international narcotics smuggling investigation and prosecution which involved hundreds of pounds of precursor chemicals, prosecutors announced.

Hugh Stevens, aka Huey, 63, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for one count of operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and one count of conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute a List I chemical, knowing it would be used to manufacture illegal substances.

Sandra Jacobi-Stevens, aka Sandi, 53, was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment for one count of conspiracy to unlawfully possess with intent to distribute quantities of ephedrine, one count of unlawful importation of ephedrine, and one count of conspiracy to unlawfully import ephedrine. She was also ordered to forfeit $202,500 to the U.S. as part of her interest in Jacobi’s Restaurant in Lackawanna, New York.

The couple was arrested on September 15, 2004, along with various defendants for their roles in the smuggling of ephedrine from Winnipeg, Canada, through Buffalo to Sacramento, California. The List I chemical, ephedrine, is used as a precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The smugglers acquired the ephedrine in Toronto, Canada. They shipped the precursors to Calgary for repacking and were shipped back to Winnipeg for being picked up by Stevens.

The investigation lasted more than a year and resulted in the arrests of various individuals in the United States and Canada. At the end, law agents seized over 200 kilograms of ephedrine.