Bulgarian Sailors Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in Spain

A Spanish court has ruled that Bulgarian sailors on board the Sveti Nikolay ship, which was detained at the port of Cádiz in 2012, are to serve sentences of up to 10 years.

On August 13 of that year, three tons of cocaine were seized from the ship which wa sailing under a Bulgarian flag. The crew, which included Bulgarians, were charged with drug trafficking. Some 290 kg subsequently disappeared from a Cádiz warehouse used by the courts.

Each of the crew members will serve 6 years of imprisonment.

Senior sailors will have to spend 10 years behind bars, with the court finding them guilty of running an organized criminal gang according to the Bulgarian National Radio.

Of all 31 on board, 21 were Bulgarian nationals.

A parallel investigation was launched by Bulgarian authorities after the incident, but was suspended due to lack of evidence that either the company which recruited the sailors or its owner, Doychin Doychev, had any involvement in a drug smuggling ring.

The defense of Bulgarian crew members has already said it will appeal.