Four members of an international crime family pleaded guilty Friday to drug smuggling and money laundering in a case the RCMP hopes will send a signal around the globe.

The men admitted they were part of a ring that smuggled massive amounts of Colombian cocaine into Canada.

The kingpin of the Cuntrera-Caruana organization, Alfonso Caruana, 54, sat slumped in the prisoner's box, listening through headphones as his sentence was translated into Italian.

Alfonso Caruana, Pasquale Caruana and Gerlando Caruana

Caruana received 18 years for importing and trafficking cocaine. His brother, Gerlando Caruana, 56, received the same punishment.

Their younger brother, Pasquale Caruana, 51, was given a 10-year sentence for drug offences. Gerlando Caruana's son, Giuseppe, received a four-year sentence for money laundering.

The family, said to be one of the largest crime families in the world, is based in Venezuela and Sicily and stretches to the Americas, Western Europe and Asia.

RCMP Supt. Ben Soave

Police say that with Friday's sentences, the crime world has been served notice.

"We've had a reputation as being a haven of organized crime. Yes, criminals do want to come here because it's a great country. But this is a clear message that we will not tolerate that," says RCMP Supt. Ben Soave.

Caruana was arrested in July 1998 after a two-year investigation. Police allege that the crime ring conspired to import more than 2,000 kilograms of Colombian cocaine into Canada, via Venezuela. The uncut cocaine was worth at least $1 billion.

Fourteen members of a Sicilian-Canadian crime family were charged. Police say it was the largest drug smuggling operation in the world.

"We've taken a significant importing organization off the street. We said, from the beginning, this was not so much about the drugs, as it was about the family," says RCMP Staff Sgt. Larry Tronstad.

The drug kingpin may be behind bars, but this case is not over. Three other suspects face trial in April on similar charges.