Guilty
Posted on 09/12/2020 7:30:23 PM PDT by ransomnote
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Aleksandar Kavaja, 27, of the Balkan country Montenegro, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
In 2019, Kavaja, a crew member who worked on board the shipping vessel MSC Gayane as the ship’s electrician, conspired with others to engage in bulk cocaine smuggling. On multiple occasions during the MSC Gayane’s voyage at sea, crew members, including Kavaja, helped load huge quantities of cocaine onto the ship from speedboats that approached under cover of darkness, traveling at high speeds. Crew members used the Gayane’s crane to hoist cargo nets full of packaged cocaine onto the vessel and then stashed the drugs in various shipping containers.
On June 17, 2019, federal, state, and local law enforcement agents boarded the MSC Gayane when it arrived at Packer Marine Terminal in the Port of Philadelphia and seized approximately 20 tons of cocaine on the ship -- with a street value of over $1 billion. This was one of the largest drug seizures in U.S. history.
“This momentous drug bust sent a clear message to criminals around the world that our city is not a safe harbor for their deadly drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Prosecutors in my Office, in conjunction with our partner agencies, have been working non-stop for over a year to pursue justice in this case. And now another member of the conspiracy has been convicted and held accountable.”
“Protecting the Homeland against transnational crime is a top priority of Homeland Security Investigations,” said Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia. “Mr. Kavaja’s guilty plea is yet another example of HSI, our law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania working hand in hand to safeguard our community against transnational drug smuggling.”
“Mr. Kavaja’s guilty plea is the logical result from his participation in what remains a record cocaine seizure for CBP,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Successful prosecutions reinforce the notion that suspects caught smuggling illegal drugs through our communities face severe, life-changing consequences.”
The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of lifetime imprisonment.
The case is being investigated by United States Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Customs and Border Protection, together with a multi-agency team of federal, state, and local partners.
Oh. I was hoping AOC or Ilhan Omar
20 tons of Cocaine or as it’s better known “a two day supply for Nancy Pelosi”
40,000 lbs of cocaine?
I didn’t know such a stash could be put together in 10 years, much less in Philly alone.
Isn’t cocaine passe?
Isn’t cocaine passe?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Must be popular somewhere. Lately I’ve seen drug busts of cocaine laced with Fentanyl. Maybe it’s a ‘base’ upon which other drugs ride on? :/
Where did the cocaine originally come from, and if via Cuba or Nicaragua?
“Where did the cocaine originally come from, and if via Cuba or Nicaragua?”
Probably Columbia, Bolivia or Peru, the Big Three cocaine producing nations.
As for shipping routes, those things are world spanning and varied using everything from luxury airplanes to container ships to homemade submersible boats to wet backs crossing the Rio.
Losing that 20 tons of blow was a setback for the cartel but they operate on the expectation than any load will be detected and confiscated.
If it had been a load of dollars headed south then heads would roll.
As it is the cartel will check it’s people and write the loss off. Cost of doing business ya know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.