Latvian drug smuggler who was detained in the Bermuda Islands last August was carrying cocaine in his boat worth LVL 48 million, according to the local newspaper BDA Sun.

On Monday, a court in the city of St.George began hearing the case against 28-year-old Janis Zegelis. The Latvian sailor had stopped in Bermuda for boat repairs, and was also carrying a gun and 192 rounds of ammunition on his yacht in addition to 165 kg of cocaine.

It was said by the prosecutors that Zegelis must have obtained the drugs in the Caribbean last summer, having visited several islands including Trinidad and Tobago.

He was sailing alone back to Latvia when his yacht encountered heavy seas which caused problems with the mast. In need of repairs, he stopped in Bermuda on July 21 of last year.

Unable to get the repairs done in time 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 worth of these drugs was around 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.

Ref: 103.109.109.1533