A Spanish national residing in Madrid received the most severe sentence, while an accused from Galicia was sentenced to nine years and four months.
A businessman from Esposende, in the Braga district, was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The four operatives contracted to carry out the operations were given sentences of eight years and two months in prison.
A fruit import entrepreneur with a warehouse in Gilmonde, Barcelos, where cocaine was found in a banana container in December 2022, was acquitted.
This container contained 70 plastic packages with cocaine, equivalent to 480,933 individual doses, which would be worth over four million euros on the trafficking market.
Another container was seized in Spain and contained 629 packages of cocaine, with a total market value exceeding 25 million euros.
The Public Prosecutor’s accusation states that, since at least mid-2020, five defendants grouped together and, “in conjunction with other individuals, whose identities have not been fully determined, devised a plan that would allow them to obtain significant economic gains.”
“The group’s operation focused on introducing large quantities of cocaine into the Iberian Peninsula by sea, concealed in import containers, mainly of fruit, originating from South America, with the aim of later commercialization,” it adds.
During the first session of the trial, one of the operatives confirmed being “hired” to assist in cutting the container in Barcelos to remove the cocaine, and in its subsequent welding and painting to restore its appearance of normality.
He mentioned that the work involved a night’s service, for which he would receive 5,000 euros.
“One night, one job, 5,000 euros, it was for the family. It was the worst decision of my life, but I accepted,” he confessed.
He stated that he only wanted to complete the service quickly so he could return home to the Dominican Republic in time to spend Christmas with his family.
Another operative also admitted to the facts, claiming he accepted the job “out of necessity.”
