MURMANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th February, 2020) Cape Verde's court on Friday found 11 Russian sailors guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 10 to 12 years, Russian State Duma lawmaker from the Murmansk Region Alexey Veller, coordinating the interaction between the sailors' lawyer and their families, said on his VKontakte social network page.
"Tonight, information came from Cape Verde that everyone not indifferent to the fate of our sailors detained a year ago in that African country was looking forward to. Today the court found all our sailors guilty and gave them sentences: Captain Kotlovsky got 12 years in prison, all other crew members 10 years!" Veller wrote.
The Eser ship flying the flag of Panama, sailing from that country to Tangier, Morocco, was detained last winter when it made an emergency stop at the port of Praia, Cape Verde, after the death of one of the crew members. According to the Cape Verde police, after the ship was checked, 9.57 tonnes of cocaine bales were confiscated. Twelve Russians were detained - 11 sailors and the captain, later one of the sailors died in pre-trial detention.
