Success Nwankwo
The US Justice Department has jailed the son of former president of Guinea-Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanha for participating in a multinational narcotics smuggling conspiracy and will face a six and a half year sentence.
According to a statement made by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Malam Bacai Sanha Jr., 52, intended to use the money to finance a revolution in the West African nation that would lead to his ultimate president and construction of a “drugs regime”.
“Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. Wasn’t any ordinary international drug trafficker,” 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 trafficking drugs for a very specific reason – to fund a coup.” He stated.
According to the statement, Sanha was a key player in the plot to smuggle narcotics and organised its importation from Europe to the United States.
It was gathered that he and his accomplice were taken into custody in July 2022 upon their arrival in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Not long later, they were extradited to the United States.
According to the statement released, Sanha entered a guilty plea “to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” in September 2023.
It was gathered that since Guinea-Bissau separated from Portugal in 1974, there have been military takeovers interspersed with periods of democratic administration, though elected officials have been able to hold office for the entire term.
Malam Bacai Sanha, the father of Sanha, was first appointed interim leader in 1999 by a junta before losing the election the following year.
After winning the presidency in a 2009 election, he passed away in January 2012 while receiving medical attention in Paris, before serving out his full term.
It was also gathered that, His son, referred to as “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, has worked for the government in a number of capacities, most notably advising his father on economic matters.
