Konstantin Yaroshenko
"Drug Trafficker" Konstantin Yaroshenko | |
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Nationality | Russian |
Konstantin Yaroshenko is a Russian citizen and former air-cargo pilot.
He was captured in Monrovia, the capital of the West African nation of Liberia, in a 2010 US DEA sting operation dubbed Operation Relentles, and extradited to the USA. [1] Yaroshenko was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in jail for allegedly participating in a plot to smuggle cocaine into the US and other markets.
He denied all charges while his lawyers argued [2]that the prosecution withheld crucial evidence from the defense and the jury. [3] The pilot’s appeal for a retrial was rejected. Konstantin’s wife, Viktoria, later claimed that the US authorities offered his family permanent residency in the US in exchange for testifying against Viktor Bout – a deal he had rejected. [4]