Penalties of up to 14 years in prison for cocaine trafficking

The Braga Court on Monday handed down sentences of between eight and 14 years in prison to an international group accused of introducing large quantities of cocaine hidden in fruit containers into the Iberian Peninsula by sea.

The harshest sentence was given to a Spaniard, resident in Madrid, while a defendant from Galicia was punished with nine years and four months.

A businessman from Esposende, in the district of Braga, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The four operatives hired to carry out the operations were sentenced to eight years and two months in prison.

A fruit importer with a warehouse in Gilmonde, Barcelos, where cocaine was found in a container of bananas in December 2022, was acquitted.

This container contained 70 plastic packages of cocaine , corresponding to 480,933 individual doses, which, on the drug trafficking market, would amount to a price of over four million euros.

Another container was seized in Spain and contained 629 packages of cocaine, with a total value of more than 25 million euros on the drug market.

The Public Prosecutor's Office's indictment states that, since at least mid-2020, five defendants grouped together and, “in a combination of efforts and wills with other individuals, whose identity has not been definitively established, devised a plan that would allow them to obtain high economic gains”.

“The purpose of this group’s actions was to introduce large quantities of cocaine into the Iberian Peninsula by sea, hidden in import containers, particularly fruit containers, from South America, with a view to their subsequent sale,” he added.

In the first session of the trial, one of the operatives confirmed that he was “hired” to collaborate in cutting the container that was in Barcelos, to remove the cocaine, and in the subsequent welding and painting of the same, to restore the appearance of normality.

According to him, the service involved was a one-night service, for which he would receive 5,000 euros.

“One night, one job, 5,000 euros, it was for the family. It was the worst decision of my life, but I accepted it,” he confessed.

He said he just wanted to get the job done quickly so he could get home to the Dominican Republic in time to spend Christmas with his family.

Another operative also confessed to the facts, claiming that he accepted the service “out of necessity”.