Guinea Bissau: Former Navy Chief Na Tchuto Arrested as 'Drug Kingpin'

Manoocher Deghati/IRIN
Recovering drug addicts in Guinea-Bissau.
5 April 2013
allAfrica.com

Cape Town — The former chief of the navy in Guinea-Bissau was arrested and is being transferred to the U.S., according to BBC News.

Broadcaster RTC in Cape Verde reported that Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was picked up on a boat in international waters near Cape Verde.

The United States has described Na Tchuto as a "kingpin" in Guinea-Bissau's drugs trade, while the United Nations expressed concern that drug trafficking increased since the coup in April 2012. The current transitional government is not fully recognised by the international community.

The West African nation has become a staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe, allegedly in collusion with top army officers.

According to the report, U.S. officials - supported by Cape Verde police - arrested him and the former navy chief is expected to face prosecution in the U.S.

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