The son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau was sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison for involvement in a transnational heroin tr@fficking conspiracy, the US Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, 52, planned to use the proceeds to finance a coup in the West African country that would lead to his eventual presidency and establishment of a “drugs regime,” according to the statement released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
“Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasn’t any ordinary international drug tr@fficker,” said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office. “He is the son of the former president of Guinea-Bissau and was tr@fficking drugs for a very specific reason — to fund a coup.”
Sanha was a leader and organizer in the heroin tr@fficking conspiracy and was involved in its importation from Europe to the United States, according to the statement.
He was arrested along with a co-conspirator after arriving in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in July 2022. They were extradited to the United States shortly afterwards.
In September 2023, Sanha pled guilty “to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” according to Tuesday’s statement.
He was sentenced to 80 months in prison.
Guinea-Bissau has had a history of military coups interspersed with periods of democratic rule — though elected leaders managed to serve a full term since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
Sanha’s father, Malam Bacai Sanha, was initially installed by a junta as interim leader in 1999 before he lost the election the following year.
He won the presidency in a 2009 election, but d!ed while seeking medical treatment in Paris in January 2012 before completing his term.
His son, known as “Bacaizinho”in Guinea-Bissau, has served in several government roles, including as an economic advisor to his father.
Source CitizenDigital
