Businessman convicted of importing 260 kilos of cocaine

A businessman from Oliveira de Azeméis was sentenced this Tuesday in the Court of Espinho, in the district of Aveiro, to seven years in prison, for having imported 260 kilos of cocaine.

During the reading of the judgment, the presiding judge said that, in essence, all the facts attributed to the defendant had been proven.

The panel of judges found it proven that the businessman imported corn from Brazil and, in the middle of the container, there were 115 tons of cocaine.

The judge also highlighted the way in which the cocaine was concealed, adding that it took three days to remove the corn and get to the bags of cocaine.

The defendant and his company were accused of aggravated drug trafficking, but were acquitted of this crime because the court did not prove what the profit was.

“We are talking about millions of euros worth of drugs , but we do not know what profit you would make from this transport,” said the judge.

For this reason, the court sentenced the defendant for a simple drug trafficking crime, to a sentence of seven years in prison.

The company was sentenced for the same crime to a 70-day fine, at a daily rate of 300 euros, totaling 210,000 euros.

The judge also stated that the defendant will remain under house arrest until the deadline to appeal the decision expires.

The businessman, who is dedicated to the purchase and sale of cereals, was arrested by the Judicial Police (PJ) in September 2024, during the “Vira Milho” operation , which also resulted in the seizure of 260 kilos of cocaine in a warehouse in Oliveira de Azeméis.

At the time of the arrest, the Judiciary stated that the seized drugs had arrived in Portugal days earlier, by sea, hidden inside a container loaded with corn for milling, coming from a Latin American country.

According to the PJ, if the drug reached illicit distribution circuits, it would be enough to make at least 1.3 million individual doses.