The Provincial Court of Las Palmas has judged this Wednesday a man, accused of a crime against public health, who has confessed that he carried 722 grams of cocaine inside his body, on a flight from Madrid to Lanzarote. "I am very sorry, I am very repentant. I did it out of desperation, because I have two children and I wanted the money to return to my country," he said during the oral trial.
The Prosecutor's Office has requested 5 years and 6 months in prison for this man, who has a criminal record, while the defense has requested his free acquittal. The accused has been in provisional prison for these events since January 2013.
The detainee, a native of the Dominican Republic, traveled from Madrid to Lanzarote on an Air Europa flight on January 20. During the trial, he confessed that he was carrying 722 grams of cocaine inside his body, which, according to the prosecutor, has a value of 8,400 euros in the illicit market.
The accused assured the court that the drug "was given to him by a friend in Madrid", who was going to pay him 1,825 euros for transporting this substance. "I wanted to return to my country and I had no money," he said.
"I had no other way to get money"
Given these facts and the confession of the author, the prosecutor has maintained the request for 5 years and 6 months in prison. For its part, the defense wanted to emphasize the "repentance" of the accused, who before these events also spent a period in prison. "When he left prison from the previous sentence, he had nowhere to get money. It was a situation of desperation, risking his life for 1,800 euros", his defense pointed out.
Before the end of the oral hearing, the accused made use of his last word, to show his repentance again. "I was desperate. I had no other way to get money. It was that or stealing and I don't like to steal. Please take all this into account", he asked the court.
