US court upholds conviction of drug kingpin

2009-07-08 00:44:02 -

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and 40-year prison sentence of a Colombian drug kingpin.
Authorities said Joaquin Mario Valencia-Trujillo headed the Cali cartel, responsible for an operation known as the «Panama Express,» which smuggled more than 600 tons of cocaine worth $8 billion over seven years.
Valencia-Trujillo was arrested in Colombia in 2003 and extradited to the United States. After his October 2006 conviction in Tampa, Florida, he was also ordered to forfeit $110 million.
His lawyers contended he was a legitimate businessman convicted on the word of drug traffickers. Among other things, they claimed on appeal that he was prosecuted for crimes beyond those Colombia authorized in his extradition.
An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the conviction Tuesday.