Article author:
Reuters
Dakar — The Supreme Court of Guinea Bisau has overturned the convictions of two drug traffickers in connection with the country's largest drug attack, a copy of the ruling was shown on Monday.
Guinea-Bissau citizens Brimassei Diva and Colombian citizens Ricardo Alisamonje said from 2020 to 16 after 1.8 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a bag of flour were seized in September 2019. I was sentenced to a year's sentence.
This was the largest drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau history. This country was once called the "Narco State" of West Africa by the United Nations due to the involvement of senior military and political leaders in drug trafficking.
The problem came to the fore in February when the government cabinet meeting was attacked by heavily armed insurgents. President Umaro Sissoco Envalo described the assault as a failure of a coup attempt related to drug trafficking.
Ba and Monje were identified by prosecutors as the kingpin of the smuggling network, but were not detained. The other 10 arrested were sentenced to four to 14 years in prison.
In the judgment, the Supreme Court of Guinea-Bissau dismissed the convictions of Ba and Monje, saying that the evidence did not support their guilt. It upheld the other 10 convictions.
The June 23 decision was first reported in the Guinea-Bissau media on Friday.
The Civil Society Group in Guinea Visau has condemned this decision as evidence that the court was an "organized crime hostage."
The ruling "endangers efforts to combat transnational organized crime and undermines the image and credibility of the country," he said in a statement on Saturday.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said last week that destabilization of West Africa, the transport route for illegal drugs on the way from South America to Europe, is driving drug production and trafficking. rice field. (Report by Aaron Ross, edited by Alex Richardson)
