ABINGDON, Va. — A North Carolina man formerly from Wise County, who was convicted as the ringleader of a southwestern Virginia meth trafficking conspiracy, has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.

Daniel Eugene Rowland, 46, of Andrews, N.C., was convicted of eight counts in the case.

Prosecutors say he routinely traveled to Atlanta to pick up multiple pounds of meth to distribute in southwestern Virginia. When he was arrested in Big Stone Gap, police found more than two pounds of meth, along with more than $32,000 and a loaded 9 mm handgun.

Five co-defendants in the case have already received sentences of between 11 and 19 years in prison.

Rowland is currently being held in the Southwestern Regional Jail in Abingdon.