Swiss man jailed in Australia for cocaine trafficking

A 22-year-old Swiss man was sentenced on Friday to eight years and eight months in prison for drug trafficking in Australia. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The Geneva-born man was facing a life sentence for travelling from Los Angeles to Melbourne in early January with a suitcase full of cocaine. He has been in custody ever since. According to the indictment, which Keystone-ATS was able to consult, he had no previous criminal record. The Australian Federal Police had charged him with importing and possessing a commercial quantity of cocaine. The 21 kilograms of white powder found in his suitcase contained nearly 15 kg of pure cocaine, the equivalent of 125,000 doses, with an estimated value of CHF4.5 million ($5.6 million). The County Court of Victoria sentenced the Swiss man to eight years and eight months’ imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of four years and 10 months. 'A moment of thoughtlessness' In addition to the large quantity of ...