Man sentenced to life in prison for cocaine trafficking in Punta Gorda

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MGN

A 34-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for cocaine trafficking, according to the state attorney’s office.

Angel Zayas Chico, of Puerto Rico, was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and received 15 years in prison to be served concurrently on the attempted trafficking charge, the state attorney’s office said.

Zayas Chico was convicted in November 2017 following a three-day trial in Charlotte County, the state attorney’s office. He must also pay a $250,000 fine.

A shipping container with 650 pounds of cocaine was seized in April 2016 at Port Miami, the state attorney’s office said. The container was being shipped from the Dominican Republic to a warehouse in Punta Gorda.

Officials installed tracking devices to monitor the movement of the shipment and replaced the actual cocaine with sham cocaine, state attorney’s office. Chico was arrested after he picked up the cocaine in Punta Gorda.

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