'The Prince of Marbella' found guilty in the United States

'The Prince of Marbella' found guilty in the United States
larger | smaller
By h.b. - Nov 20, 2008 - 10:04 PM

Monzer Al Kasser - Archive Photo EFE

63 year old Syrian, Monzer Al Kassar, has been found guilty by a Federal Court in the United States of arms trafficking.

The man known as ‘The Prince of Marbella’, the Syrian, Monzer Al Kassar, has been found guilty by a Federal Court in the United States of arms trafficking and of conspiring to sell arms to the FARC guerrillas in Colombia.

He was arrested in June 2007 at Barajas Airport in Madrid and extradited to the United States in June this year.

62 year old Al Kassar lived many years in Spain and became known as ‘The Prince of Marbella’ for his ostentatious lifestyle on the Costa del Sol.

He was described in court as one of the most prolific arms traffickers in the world, and was accused with Felipe Moreno Godoy, a 59 year old Chilean.

The DNA investigators trapped Al Kassar by travelling to Marbella to meet with him, pretending to be representatives of the Nicaraguan Government, who they claimed had been sent by the FARC to buy anti-helicopter missiles.

The defence lawyers for the two men said in court that their clients were legitimate arms dealers, and said they would appeal the sentence when it is made public on February 18.

Click here for related stories

mobile |

email this article | print

printer friendly page

More Spain News : Andalucía : Costa del Sol

Readers' comments:
Please keep to the subject. Opinions published here are of our visitors, not the Typically Spanish team. Comments which go against Spanish laws or which are libellous are not allowed. We reserve the right to delete any comment we wish. Placing a comment indicates you have read our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema. Escribir un comentario indica que has leído nuestros condiciones de uso y politica de privacidad.