Montenegrin seamen sentenced in $1 BILLION cocaine smuggling scheme claim they were pressured by Balkan drug smugglers to hide drugs in US-bound shipping containers
Two Montenegrin seamen who were sentenced for conspiracy after authorities seized nearly $1 billion of cocaine from a commercial shipping vessel said Monday they were pressured into the scheme by Balkan drug smugglers.
Ivan Durasevic, 31, and Nenad Ilic, 41, both of Montenegro, were arrested in 2019 after authorities discovered nearly 20 tons of cocaine aboard a ship named MSC Gayane in the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia.
The drug bust was one of the largest drug seizures in U.S. history, the DOJ said in a release.
Ivan Durasevic, 31, and Nenad Ilic, 41, both of Montenegro, were arrested after authorities seized nearly 20 tons of cocaine from a ship named MSC Gayane
The drug bust was one of the largest drug seizures in U.S. history, the DOJ said in a release
According to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's U.S. Attorney's Office, Durasevic and Ilic, who were crew members on the commercial shipping vessel, conspired with others to engage in a bulk cocaine smuggling scheme.
But as the men faced sentencing on Monday they told the court that they were coerced into participating in the drug scheme after being contacted by a powerful Balkan drug trafficking organization.
Durasevic and Ilic said they were afraid to say no, fearing for their safety and their families', the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The men said they turned down 'astronomical sums' of money before giving in and participating.
'It simply was not a viable option for him to say no when he was recruited,' Durasevic's attorney, Mythri A. Jayaraman said. 'Recruited is too mild a word, he was coerced.'
U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III was not moved by their claims and sentenced the men to six and a half and seven years, respectively, in prison.
In 2019 authorities seized nearly 20 tons of cocaine from a ship named MSC Gayane in the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia
Bartle III said the men made a conscious decision to participate 'in major, major drug activity — unprecedented — which could have resulted in the deaths of thousands of people,' the Inquirer reported.
On multiple occasions during the MSC Gayane's voyage and while at sea, Durasevic, Ilic and other crew members loaded bulk packages of cocaine onto the vessel from speedboats that approached in the middle of the night, the DOJ said.
Crew members stashed the cocaine in the vessel's shipping containers by bending ship railings and pulling back doors on shipping containers, so they could fit the huge amounts in.
They hid the drugs among legitimate cargo and used fake seals to reseal shipping containers and disguise the contraband, the DOJ said.
Durasevic and Ilic operated mobile 'narco' phones to coordinate the bulk cocaine smuggling with others on land and helped recruit crew members while at sea to assist in the scheme.
Five other crewmen already were sentenced to prison terms that range from five to seven years, with one crewman remaining to be sentenced, the Inquirer reported.
