The former leader of one of Colombia's biggest drug cartels, who was once ranked alongside Osama bin Laden on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list, has been sentenced to 45 years in jail in the US.

Diego Montoya, also known as Don Diego, had a $5million bounty on his head, but dodged capture for years by paying off military and police leaders. He was responsible for at least 1,500 killings over a two-decade career.

During its heyday, Montoyas's cartel - Norte del Valle, or North Valley - is believed to have exported more cocaine to the US than any other organisation.

The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine, racketeering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

He was also sentenced to pay $500,000 restitution to the family of Jhon Jairo Garcia, a long-term associate he had had tortured and killed in the belief he had become an informer for US police.

Montoya said he had originally wanted to be a priest but had started to go wrong after his father died when he was 14.

"I am really repentant of my actions," he said. "I hope my sentence will bring some measure of peace to the victims and their families and bring their nightmare to a conclusion."

In court documents, Montoya's defence team traced his progression from a teenager with dreams of being a Catholic priest to becoming the man at the helm of a drug-trafficking ring believed to have exported $10billion worth of cocaine to the US.

The North Valley cartel rose in the mid-Nineties from the once-dominant Medellin and Cali gangs. Montoya began as a cocaine laboratory "chef", working his way up through transport, export and money-laundering.

When he was captured in September 2007 by Colombian police commandos, hiding out on a remote ranch, Montoya headed a private army of several hundred gunmen.

Three of his brothers, who worked with him, have previously been arrested and given jail terms of up to 30 years.

Montoya was the last of Colombia's major fugitive drug lords, with the trade now split among smaller groups and much of the profit and violence moving to Mexican-run organisations.

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