CONCORD, N.H. — Seven people, some of them college students, have been sentenced in federal court in New Hampshire on charges of shipping about $500,000 worth of marijuana and other drugs through the mail from California to Vermont and New Hampshire.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says the shipments took place from 2009 to 2011 and that authorities intercepted express mail packages containing drugs and a large amount of cash.

The seven, from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Colorado, recently pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy with the intent to distribute the drugs, conspiracy to use the U.S. mail for drug trafficking, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their sentences range from 37 months in prison to two years of probation.

According to the plea hearings, the defendants said two students at Lyndon State College in Vermont received marijuana from sources in California in express mail packages. They sold the marijuana to buyers. One later moved to California and began shipping drugs to the other student and his brother.

The brothers, in turn, distributed the drugs in the Lyndonville, Vt., area and in New Hampshire, including to students at Keene State College and Plymouth State University. The brothers eventually went to California, also to ship marijuana, hashish and ectasy to Vermont and New Hampshire.

According to the plea hearings, proceeds from the drug sales were returned to California, again via the express mail service.

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