Son of Guinea-Bissau’s ex-president jailed in US for heroine trafficking

Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, the son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanha has been sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison for involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy in the United States (US).

The US Justice Department announced this on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Sanha Jr, 52, planned to use the proceeds to finance a coup in the West African country that would lead to his eventual presidency and establishment of a “drugs regime.”

The Special Agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office, Douglas Williams, said: “Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasn’t any ordinary international drug trafficker.

“He is the son of the former president of Guinea-Bissau and was trafficking drugs for a very specific reason – to fund a coup.”

The statement further noted that Sanha was a leader and organiser in the heroin trafficking conspiracy.

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He was also involved in its importation from Europe to the US.

He was arrested along with a co-conspirator after arriving in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022.

Both of them were extradited to the US shortly afterwards.

In September 2023, Sanha pled guilty “to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” the statement further noted.

Recall that Guinea-Bissau has had a history of military coups interspersed with periods of democratic rule – though elected leaders managed to serve a full term since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Sanha’s father, Sanha, was initially installed by a junta as interim leader in 1999 before he lost the election the following year.

He won the presidency in a 2009 election but died while seeking medical treatment in Paris in January 2012 before completing his term.

His son, popularly known as “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, served in several government roles, including as an economic advisor to his father.

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