Bahamas: Two Venezuelans were sentenced to five years in prison for cocaine trafficking
A judge in the Bahamas sentenced this Wednesday two Venezuelans to five years in prison after being arrested for trying to bring 1,245 kilos of cocaine, valued at $25 million, into the archipelago.
Jaime Digiacomo, 64, and Luis Pérez, 29, were sentenced by Judge Samuel McKinney after pleading guilty.
Digiacomo and Pérez have pleaded guilty to one count of attempting and conspiring to smuggle drugs into the country and one count of possession of illicit drugs with intent to sell.
The judge also set each of them on $100,000 bail and, if they don't pay it, they will have to serve an additional year in prison.
According to what the Venezuelans told the judge, a high-ranking officer of the Bahamas Police helped them to bring the drugs.
The judge, in turn, heard in court that the Crooked Island Police became suspicious when they heard the sound of a small plane near the island's airport at about 11:45 p.m. (03:45 GMT ) of last December 23.
When the authorities arrived at the aerodrome, they sighted a small plane parked on the runway.
As the officers approached the plane, they saw that the door of the plane was open and two men ran out.
The two men were then chased and caught and returned to the plane, where the officers found 44 black bags where they hid the drugs.
The Venezuelans told the authorities that the drugs were moved from Venezuela.
During the trial, both men questioned why the Police did not report the intervention of an alleged high-ranking officer of that agency. Digiacomo assured the judge that the high-ranking local police officer would transport the cocaine in a high-speed boat to the Dominican Republic.
(With information from EFE)
Continue reading:
The dictator Nicolás Maduro gave his end-of-year message to the Venezuelan Armed Forces: "The danger lies in the hidden enemy"
The dictator Nicolás Maduro assured that the Venezuelan economy grew again after losing four fifths of its size in eight years
Censorship intensifies in Venezuela: the union of press workers denounced the closure of radio stations by an opposition mayor
An NGO requested the intervention of the Red Cross to care for one of the political prisoners of the regime
The regime blocks Venezuelans fleeing to Trinidad and Tobago and jails those who transport them
1612