-Caveat Lector- Florida man guilty in cocaine submarine plot FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 25 (Reuters) - A Florida man was convicted on Tuesday of drug conspiracy charges in a plot that included an attempt to use a Russian Foxtrot submarine to smuggle cocaine to North America, prosecutors said. A U.S. District Court jury found Juan Almeida guilty of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. Almeida faces from 10 years to life in prison. The conspiracy spanned almost 10 years and included evidence of three separate transactions involving 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of cocaine in the late 1980s, prosecutors said. They said Almeida conspired with a group of Russian mobsters, dubbed ``Redfellas,'' who plotted the drug deals at a strip bar called Porky's in a Cuban neighbourhood near Miami International Airport. The plot allegedly included Colombian drug barons, cocaine distributors in Miami and hard-up Russian military officers, who offered to sell the diesel-powered submarine from a naval base in St. Petersburg, Russia, for $5.5 million. According to trial evidence, the drug barons planned to use the vessel to smuggle cocaine from South America to the United States and Canada. Police arrested several suspects before the sale went through. Trial evidence included testimony from U.S. Navy officials, who said the submarine of that make and model could have carried about 40 tons of cocaine. Prosecutors also introduced evidence gathered through wiretaps and meetings with undercover agents. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
