The Lisbon Central Criminal Court has sentenced a 53-year-old fisherman from Vila do Conde to prison for 10 years for the crime of trafficking marijuana in the Mediterranean Sea.
João Caetano was arrested on 17th of May 2017, just off the coast of Morocco, aboard a vessel in which he had hidden around ten tons of drugs, valued at more than 23 million euros. His last journey was at least his fourth trip for the purpose of transporting drugs between Morocco and Libya.
The owner of the boat and two other crew members, who are of Dutch nationality, were also punished with penalties of between six and a half to nine years in jail for aggravated drug trafficking. A fifth Portuguese crew member, Antonio Carneiro, was sentenced to seven years in prison for trafficking of simple narcotics. Despite having only played a side role in the last trip, Mr. Carneiro's sentence was made worth due to having a previous conviction in Póvoa de Varzim for drug trafficking.
The court also attempted to charge Mr. Caetano with a criminal association charge, but were not able to prove that he had held a prominent position in the drug-smuggling group he joined.
It seems as if the struggling fishermen are resorting to dire measures.
