[Marxism] Alleged drug runner escorted from Cuba

[Walter Lippmann]

One of the many slanders aimed at Cuba is the one about its being 
soft on drugs, or even trafficking in drugs. The Cuban government 
acknowledges that it has what it calls an "incipient" drug problem, 
(and that doesn't include the evident problem with legal and 
prescription drug abuse), Cuba has a truly draconian approach to 
drug trafficking and traffickers. Check out Cuba's drug law:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs026.html
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Alleged drug runner escorted from Cuba

http://au.news.yahoo.com//070725/2/141pb.html 
AAPWednesday July 25, 04:11 PM

A 49-year-old Australian has been extradited from Cuba on charges of
attempting to import millions of dollars worth of cannabis resin into
Australia more than a decade ago.

The man was due to face the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday
charged with conspiring to import eight tonnes of cannabis resin, a
processed and solidified form of the marijuana plant.

He was charged on his arrival on Wednesday in Brisbane after being
escorted from the Caribbean Island by the Australian Federal Police.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The AFP allege the man was the master of a vessel named Highlander,
which made two unsuccessful attempts to transport 7.989 tonnes of
cannabis resin from another ship to shore near Poona in Queensland's
south-east in late 1996.

The AFP said the man then left Australia before the drugs were
imported and seized under a joint AFP and Customs investigation.

The AFP obtained an arrest warrant for the man in August 1997 and he
was then subject to an Interpol worldwide alert.

Cuban authorities detained the man in April this year when he tried
to enter Cuba before being extradited to Australia.

AFP International Network national manager Assistant Commissioner Tim
Morris said the extradition was the first between Cuba and Australia.

"It finalises a major operation that resulted in the conviction of 17
people for their involvement in the importation and the dismantling
of a global trafficking syndicate," Mr Morris said.

"This final arrest is a significant achievement for the AFP and its
international and Australian partner agencies."