schema:articleBody
| - A court in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday handed record prison sentences to the two ringleaders of a gang that brought almost two tonnes of cocaine into the country. In all, 12 suspects received jail terms for bringing the drugs into the poor West African country which is considered a transit hub for narcotics from Latin America to Europe. Very few people attended the court hearing in the capital Bissau due to travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The two suspected ringleaders, Colombian Ricardo Ariza Monje, known as "Ramon" and Braima Seidi Ba, who has joint Guinea Bissau and Portuguese nationality, were each sentenced to 16 years in prison. The others found guilty, including defendants from Guinea-Bissau, Colombia, Mali and Mexico, received jail terms of between four and 14 years. Guinea-Bissau, a nation of just 1.6 million people, has suffered chronic instability since independence from Portugal in 1974. The volatility has fanned poverty, attracting South American drug cartels which have turned it into a hub of cocaine trafficking. aye/siu/pvh/har
|