Four men sentenced to up to 20 years for sabotage of Havana Milk Complex
The Supreme Court upheld sentences of 15 to 20 years for the theft of dielectric oil that paralysed the Havana Milk Complex. Economic losses exceeded 10 million pesos.
Supreme Court upholds sentences of up to 20 years for dielectric oil theft at Havana dairy plant
The State Security Crimes Division of Cuba's Supreme Popular Court confirmed sentences of between 15 and 20 years' imprisonment against four men who removed 140 litres of dielectric oil from the transformer at the electrical substation of the Havana Milk Complex, according to juventudrebelde.cu.
The convicted men are Noerlis Agüero Aguirre, Yoel Noel Ortiz Fontes, Andy Travieso Salazar and Ramón David Cruz Grajales. The individual sentences—15, 16, 18 and 20 years respectively—were fixed according to each defendant's degree of participation, individual circumstances and the seriousness of the facts.
Detained with seven tanks of oil while attempting to leave the premises
The defendants extracted the dielectric oil from the transformer with the purpose of selling it. To carry out the theft, they took advantage of the nighttime darkness and the fact that one of those involved worked as a security agent at the centre itself. However, other members of the security team intercepted them as they attempted to leave the installation with the oil distributed in seven 20-litre tanks.
The Supreme Court considered as aggravating circumstances the participation of more than three persons, the commission during nighttime hours and criminal intent. The legal classification applied was sabotage, in accordance with articles 125 and 126 of the Cuban Penal Code.
Losses exceeding 10 million pesos and total plant shutdown
The extraction of the oil caused the complete paralysis of productive activities at the Milk Complex. Economic losses in products destined for the family basket and school meals totalled 10.27 million pesos, with additional repair costs estimated at 81,591 pesos.
In addition to prison sentences, the four convicted men must serve accessory sanctions: deprivation of public rights, prohibition from leaving the country and forfeiture of property.
Only one of the defendants filed an appeal
Only Noerlis Agüero Aguirre appealed the ruling to the State Security Crimes Division, which upheld the sentence without modifications.
The court noted that the trial had an exemplary character, given that the facts go against the State's efforts to guarantee the production of essential food supplies for the population in a context of energy difficulties.
(Original source: Cubadebate, reported by juventudrebelde.cu)
Source: Google News CU — Crime