Young Cuban sentenced to 7 years for cocaine seized in Canelones, Uruguay
A 23-year-old Cuban was sentenced to seven years in prison in Uruguay after being detained with almost 22 kg of cocaine in Lagomar, Canelones.
Cuban sentenced the day after arrest with almost 22 kilos of cocaine in Canelones
A 23-year-old young Cuban received a sentence of seven years in prison in Uruguay for drug trafficking, one day after being detained with 21.865 kilogrammes of cocaine in the boot of his vehicle. According to reports from the Uruguayan Interior Ministry and Teledoce, and collected by periodicocubano.com, the court delivered the ruling on Tuesday, following the arrest that occurred on Monday 12 May in Lagomar, in the department of Canelones.
The operation was part of Operation Roosevelt, an investigation into drug trafficking that had been underway for several months. Surveillance agents identified the young man's vehicle, and when he noticed the police presence, he attempted to flee. Officers intercepted him minutes later and found eight bricks and 24 half-bricks of cocaine in the boot. The authorities did not disclose the detainee's identity, who had no criminal record.
In addition to the drugs, agents seized the vehicle and a mobile telephone. Interior Minister Carlos Negro estimated the value of the shipment on the illegal Uruguayan market at approximately 200,000 dollars and noted that the substance had "a fairly high or very high purity level".
Negro travelled to the headquarters of Canelones Zone III Police Command together with the National Police director, José Azambuya. There, the authorities detailed the results of an operation that had already led to the formalisation and conviction of other persons for drug-related offences.
The Canelones police chief, Fabio Quevedo, indicated that investigators are working to establish the scope of distribution associated with the case. One of the hypotheses is that the cocaine was destined for Montevideo. "We believe that when it was being transported, it was certainly being transported to Montevideo," Quevedo stated, although he clarified that this is a possibility and not a confirmed destination.
As part of the same operation, a parallel search warrant allowed the seizure of one kilogramme of cocaine paste and a replica firearm with the appearance of a submachine gun.
Negro also emphasised the need to investigate the financial flow of drug trafficking. "The money trail is what really deters criminals from embarking on the path of drug trafficking," the minister stated. Investigations linked to the case remain open.
Source: Google News UY — Crime