The son of Guinea-Bissau's former president has been sentenced to greater than six years in jail by a US court docket for main a world heroin-trafficking ring.
Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, 52, deliberate to make use of the proceeds to finance his ambitions to turn into president of Guinea-Bissau via a coup, authorities say.
He’s the son of Malam Bacai Sanha, who led the West African nation from 2009 till his dying in 2012.
Sanha Jr has been linked with a failed coup in February 2022.
He was extradited to the US in August 2022, following his arrest in Tanzania a number of weeks earlier.
His trial started quickly after and in September of final yr, he pleaded responsible to conspiracy to illegally import medicine.
“Malam Bacai Sanha Jr was no extraordinary worldwide drug trafficker,” FBI agent Douglas Williams stated Tuesday.
“He’s the son of the previous president of Guinea-Bissau and he was drug trafficker for a really particular purpose – to finance a coup that may finally lead him to the presidency of his native nation the place he deliberate to determine a drug regime”.
US authorities say Sanha Jr could possibly be deported after his jail time period as a result of he’s not a US citizen.
The 52-year-old, often called “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, has had a number of roles within the authorities, together with as his father's financial advisor.
He claimed he was “personally concerned” within the failed 2022 coup try and overthrow President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, which left 11 useless, most of them members of the safety forces.
Sanha Jr instructed US authorities he used drug proceeds to finance the coups, German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported final yr.
Guinea-Bissau is a recognized middle for drug trafficking. It’s a key conduit for cocaine from Latin America destined for Europe, which led the US and the UN to designate it a “narco-state” greater than a decade in the past.
Consultants say that drug traffickers and networks are very influential and well-rooted within the nation's authorities, usually financing election campaigns for politicians who might be trusted to guard the unlawful commerce.
Supply: https://www.myjoyonline.com/son-of-guinea-bissaus-ex-president-jailed-in-us-for-trafficking-drugs-to-fund-coup-2/
