The son of a past president of Guinea-Bissau has been handed a prison term exceeding six and a half years after being found guilty of participating in an international heroin trafficking scheme, as declared by the US Justice Department on Tuesday.
Malam Bacai Sanha Jr., aged 52, purportedly devised to utilize the illicit gains to bankroll a coup within the West African nation, aiming to ascend to the presidency and institute a “drugs regime,” as outlined in the statement disclosed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
“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 emerged as a prominent figure and coordinator within the heroin trafficking scheme, orchestrating its operations from Europe to the United States, as per the statement.
Upon their arrival in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022, Sanha and an accomplice were apprehended, leading to their subsequent extradition to the United States.
In September 2023, Sanha pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” as outlined in Tuesday’s statement.
He received a sentence of 80 months in prison. Guinea-Bissau has witnessed a turbulent history of military coups interspersed with brief periods of democratic governance, despite elected officials occasionally completing their terms since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.
Sanha’s father, Malam Bacai Sanha, initially assumed leadership as an interim head of state in 1999 following a junta’s installation before losing the subsequent year’s election.
Though he secured the presidency in the 2009 election, his tenure was cut short by his demise while undergoing medical treatment in Paris in January 2012, before completing his term.
Dubbed “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, Sanha has held various governmental positions, including serving as an economic advisor to his father.
