A 36-year-old Maui man was sentenced to 20-years in prison for his part in a drug distribution ring that smuggled methamphetamine into the state from Las Vegas.

Nathaniel "Bobo" Russell, 36, was sentenced to 240 months in prison by U.s. District Judge J. Michael Seabright yesterday.

Russell was the head of a "extensive" methamphetamine distribution operation on Maui, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office, that included his former wife and a former Maui policeman.

In 2005 Russell and eight others were arrested on charges they were part of a drug operation to import six pounds of crystal methamphetamine from Las Vegas.

Former Maui officer Reed Kaleookalani Aken Sr. was among nine people arrested in July 2005

Aken is accused of being the operation's courier, taking money to Las Vegas and returning with ice.

The probe was handled by Maui County police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The wiretaps were authorized by U. S. District Court judges starting in April.

A federal grand jury indictment said the six were involved in a conspiracy that included Aken leaving Maui for Las Vegas on May 25 and having about two pounds of ice under clothes he wore at Los Angeles International Airport on May 28.

Russell and his co-defendants received an average of 11.6 years in federal prison for their roles in the drug ring.