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Tuesday, 09.06.2026, 09:08
Latvian drug smuggler caught in Bermuda was carrying cocaine worth USD 48 mln
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On Monday, a court in the city of St.George began hearing the case against 28-year-old Janis Zegelis, informs LETA.
The Latvian sailor had stopped in Bermuda for boat repairs, and was also carrying a gun and 192 rounds of ammunition on his yacht.
Zegelis is said by prosecutors to have obtained the drugs in the Caribbean last summer, having visited several islands including Trinidad and Tobago.
He was sailing single-handed back to Latvia when his yacht encountered heavy seas which caused problems with the mast.
Needing repairs, he stopped off in Bermuda on July 21 of last year.
Unable to get the repairs done due to holidays, Zegelis was still moored at St.George's when local customs agents raided the boat on August 1.
The cocaine, weighing 165 kilograms, was in the form of powder in plastic bags and had an average purity of 81 percent, the BDA Sun writes.
The weapon the man had on him was a 9mm ''Beretta''. The items were stored in a cabin area at the bow of the yacht.
"The value of these drugs was something in the region of USD 48 million," Bermuda's Director of Public Prosecutions Rory Field told the court.
"The court's case on the firearm is simple: Zegelis had something worth USD 48 million in the front of his boat, and that's a fortune in any country and enough to tempt any criminal to come to take it whether it's overseas or on land. That's why he had the weapon; to use it if anyone wanted to take the drugs,'' Field said.
"One can only imagine what could have occurred if criminals in Bermuda got wind of those drugs," Field added during the court proceedings.
Zegelis was arrested and taken into custody after the raid. According to the prosecutor, he was interviewed by police and gave information that was incriminating.
He is facing six charges: importing and possessing the cocaine, importing and possessing the gun, and importing and possessing the ammunition.
He denies the charges, but Field said the evidence will show he is "clearly guilty of all six".
Zegelis is being assisted by a translator in court who speaks Latvian. However, according to Field, the defendant speaks English "quite well" and also speaks Russian and Spanish.
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