Montreal man pleads guilty in drug operation linked to GF teen

A Montreal man today (Fri) pleaded guilty in a U-S federal court for his role in an international fentanyl trafficking operation uncovered after the death of a Grand Forks teen.

The U-S Attorney’s Office says 39-year-old Jason Berry — while in a Canadian prison — was involved in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and similar substances from Canada and China into the U-S, resulting in 15 overdoses, four of which were fatal.

The investigation started in North Dakota in January 2015, with the overdose death in Grand Forks of 18-year-old Bailey Henke.

Berry led the conspiracy in Canada with another inmate, 41-year-old Daniel Ceron, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to numerous charges including continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and money laundering.

Berry is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

Nearly 20 others involved in the conspiracy were previously sentenced. Several others have been charged.