A Winnipeg man sentenced in a U.S. federal court last week for his role in a drug smuggling operation is appealing his conviction.

Timothy Morneau is facing the prospect of spending the next 20 years of his life in an American prison.

He and two Winnipeg teenagers were arrested in February 2008 after a Montana state trooper stopped their car for a broken headlight. During the stop, officers found an estimated $5 million worth of ecstasy pills in the trunk.

Morneau was convicted in January by a U.S. jury in Billings, Mont., of possession of the drugs with intent to distribute. Prosecutors said he was part of an operation in which he was promised $3,000 for smuggling the ecstasy into the United States from Winnipeg.

He was sentenced on April 16 to 20 years in prison.

Morneau's appeal claims police conducted an illegal search of the car.

"[The] argument would be something along the line that, when a police officer notices something like that they usually give a ticket for a light that's out or give a warning — one of the two — and send them on their way," said Morneau's lawyer, David Duke.

If that's the case, the drugs would never have been found and that evidence in the case would have to be tossed out, Duke suggested.

No date has been set to hear the appeal.

The co-accused in the case, Alan Mulder and Christian Laurin, both of whom are now 20, were given four-year sentences earlier this year. They were also facing 20-year terms but cut a deal with prosecutors for testifying against Morneau.

Morneau has refused to divulge the identity of his supplier to prosecutors.