Aruba: More Drug Smugglers Sentenced on “One Happy Island”

More drug smugglers sentenced in Aruba aboard a drug loaded boat disguised as a fishing vessel. With every boat they manage to catch, one does wonder just how many actually get through?

Amigoe; October 8, 2007: Jail time for drug smugglers

The fishing boat Canelita, on which a big amount of marihuana and cocaine was found in May of this year.

ORANJESTAD – The judge gave verdict in the case of 7 Colombians, whose boat was intercepted near Paardenbaai in May with on board 350 kilo marihuana and 12.25 kilo cocaine.  Six of them were sentenced to 18 months to 4.5 years jail time.

The 7th one was acquitted, because there is no evidence whether he knew about the drugs on board.  He paid for the trip with the purpose to enter Aruba as an illegal person.  During a joint patrol with the Section Organized Crime and Guarda nos Costa, the Coastguard for the Neth.Antilles and Aruba stopped the fishing boat in the night of May 21st.  They found 15 bags of 100 kilo narcotics on board of the boat.  There was also 300 kilo fish on board, probably used as cover.

The captain of the boat was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and the person responsible for the fish as cover received 18 months.

The three drug smugglers Manuel Castrillo, Tomas Mendoza Iguaran and Juan Cardales were considered the leaders of the operation and were sentenced to respectively 3, 4, and 4.5 years imprisonment.