rooster59 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Cape Verde court finds Russians guilty in record cocaine bust Policemen stand guard outside the courthouse during a trial of eleven Russian sailors, accused of smuggling over nine tonnes of cocaine from Central America, in Praia City, Cape Verde January 27, 2020. REUTERS/ Jolio Rodrigues PRAIA (Reuters) - The Russian captain and crew of a cargo ship captured last year in Cape Verde with the biggest cocaine haul ever seized in the country were found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to jail on Friday. The 9.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized in February 2019 after the ship, which was travelling to Morocco from South America, docked at the port of Praia for legal reasons following the death of a crew member. An Atlantic archipelago of 500,000 people off Africa’s west coast, Cape Verde has long tried to tackle gangs trafficking Latin American cocaine to Europe via West Africa. Captain Sergei Kotlovskii said during the trial that he had been forced to take the drugs onboard in the Caribbean by the ship's owner and that the 10 crew members were not aware of the illicit cargo. Kotlovskii got 12 years for international drug trafficking. The rest of the crew got 10 years for the same crime. They were acquitted of the second charge of criminal association. "All the defendants were aware of the narcotic drug placed on the vessel and acted with intent, freely and consciously in exchange for economic benefit," according to the court judgment read by Judge Angela Rodrigues. Defence lawyer Martinho Landim lawyer said he would appeal the decision. Use is rising of hard drugs like cocaine, heroin and amphetamines in West Africa, where countries that once served primarily as transit points for trade between South America and Europe are now active consumer markets. (Reporting By Julio Rodriges; Writing by Edward McAllister) -- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-29 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavideol Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 why appeal, .... they are drug dealers, let them rotten in jail 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4MyEgo Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Som nom na 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Holey cow that’s a lot of coke doubt they will survive prison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 rather odd thing to do, boat full of drugs, check into CV just because of a corpse on board well, they paid heavy harbour dues for that . . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 many governments involved at the highest levels to shuffle all this undeclared income, prohibition has corrupted the world to the core.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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