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- Oct 5, 2012
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The former chief of the navy in Guinea-Bissau has been arrested and is being transferred to the US, local media have reported.
Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo NaTchuto was picked up on a boat in international waters near Cape Verde, a local broadcaster said.
He is described by the US as a kingpin in Guinea-Bissau's huge drugs trade.
The small West African state is a staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
According to a report by the broadcaster RTC in Cape Verde - the island state off the west coast of Africa - US officials supported by Cape Verde police arrested Mr Na Tchuto and he is expected to face prosecution in the US.
He is among a number of military figures in Guinea-Bissau the US believes are heavily involved in thedrugs trade.
US officials imposed a travel ban and asset-freeze on him in 2010.
Last year the United Nations Security Council warned that renewed political instability was allowing drug trafficking to flourishin Guinea-Bissau.
The country saw another military-backed coup in April last year, and the current transitional government does not have full international recognition.
Source: BBC MEWS
Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo NaTchuto was picked up on a boat in international waters near Cape Verde, a local broadcaster said.
He is described by the US as a kingpin in Guinea-Bissau's huge drugs trade.
The small West African state is a staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
According to a report by the broadcaster RTC in Cape Verde - the island state off the west coast of Africa - US officials supported by Cape Verde police arrested Mr Na Tchuto and he is expected to face prosecution in the US.
He is among a number of military figures in Guinea-Bissau the US believes are heavily involved in thedrugs trade.
US officials imposed a travel ban and asset-freeze on him in 2010.
Last year the United Nations Security Council warned that renewed political instability was allowing drug trafficking to flourishin Guinea-Bissau.
The country saw another military-backed coup in April last year, and the current transitional government does not have full international recognition.
Source: BBC MEWS