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COLUMBUS, OHIO - A Belize native convicted in a scheme to ship cocaine to the United States in the shoes of young people recruited as couriers was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.
Duane Seawell, 34, was sentenced by US District Judge James Graham after pleading guilty in July to money laundering and two counts of shipping cocaine into the United States. He will likely be deported after serving his prison term.
"I'm very sorry for my involvement," Seawell told Graham. "I'm very remorseful for what I did."
Prosecutors say Seawell is among three brothers and dozens of others who were part of a multimillion dollar plot that extended from Belize through Mexico to cities across the United States, including Columbus, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and Lakeland, Florida.
To date, 70 people have been prosecuted and convicted in courts in the United States and Mexico.
Seawell was arrested in Miami in February during a layover as Jamaican authorities were deporting him to Belize for illegally entering Jamaica.
Prosecutors would not comment. Seawell's lawyer said she had hoped her client's lack of a criminal record and willingness to be extradited into the US would have resulted in a slightly lower sentence.
For "someone of this level of criminal involvement to have no record whatsoever is pretty noteworthy," said attorney Diane Menashe.
- AP
