The United States Justice Department announced on Tuesday that Malam Bacai Sanha Jr., the son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau, has been sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison for his involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy, News About Nigeria reports.
According to a statement released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Sanha, aged 52, conspired to traffic heroin and use the proceeds to finance a coup in Guinea-Bissau.
The coup was purportedly aimed at securing his eventual presidency and establishing what was described as a ‘drugs regime’ in the West African country.
Special Agent Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office said, “Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasn’t any ordinary international drug trafficker. He is the son of the former president of Guinea-Bissau and was trafficking drugs for a very specific reason—to fund a coup.”
Sanha was identified as a leader and organiser in the heroin trafficking conspiracy, actively involved in importing heroin from Europe to the United States.
He was apprehended along with a co-conspirator upon their arrival in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022.
Subsequently, they were extradited to the United States.
In September 2023, Sanha pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation.”
As a result, he has been sentenced to 80 months in prison.
Sanha’s father, Malam Bacai Sanha, served as interim leader following a junta’s installation in 1999 before being defeated in the subsequent election.
He later won the presidency in 2009 but passed away in January 2012 before completing his term.
Known as “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, Sanha Jr. has held various governmental positions, including serving as an economic advisor to his father.
