A Miami federal jury found an Ecuadorian citizen and two Colombians guilty of smuggling more than 400 kilograms of cocaine in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Florida Middle Judicial District Attorney’s Office reported Thursday.
Luis Elías Angulo Leones, 29, a national of Ecuador, and Jhonis Alexis Landazuri Arboleda, 33, and Dilson Daniel Arboleda Quiñones, 25, both from Colombia, formally charged in 2020, each face prison terms that They range from a minimum of 10 years to life in federal prison.
The judge in the case, in Tampa (west coast of Florida), will impose a sentence on June 15.
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According to trial testimony, a US Coast Guard helicopter spotted a 35-foot (10.6-meter) open-hull boat in the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles from the nearest point of land.
The Coast Guard suspected that the boat was being used for drug smuggling because it had multiple engines, multiple fuel containers on deck and operated without navigation lights after dark, and they sent a small boat to investigate.
On board the boat, which had no flag and was therefore subject to US jurisdiction, they found the three defendants and 430 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $12.9 million. hidden below the ship’s deck.
They apprehend allegedly involved in the crime of Jaime Cabezas, a well-known lawyer and politician from Ibarra
This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard and the Panama Express Strike Force, part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
OCDETF identifies, intercepts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using an intelligence-driven, prosecutor-led, multi-agency approach, according to a statement. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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