The US Justice Department announced on Tuesday that Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, the son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau, has been sentenced to over six and a half years in prison for his involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy.
According to the statement released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Sanha, 52, had plans to use the proceeds from the trafficking to finance a coup in Guinea-Bissau. This coup was intended to pave the way for his eventual presidency and the establishment of what was termed a “drugs regime.”
Douglas Williams, the special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office, emphasized, “Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasn’t any ordinary international drug trafficker,” said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office. “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 played a significant role as a leader and organizer within the heroin trafficking conspiracy, particularly in the importation of heroin from Europe into the United States, as stated in the announcement.
He and a co-conspirator were arrested upon their arrival in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022. Subsequently, they were extradited to the United States.
Sanha pleaded guilty in September 2023 “to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” according to Tuesday’s statement.”
