A U.S. court has sentenced Haiti's former national police commander to 15 years in jail for laundering money and protecting Colombian cocaine smuggling through the Caribbean nation.
The Miami judge on Wednesday ordered Rudy Therassan to forfeit nearly $2 million, including two houses in Florida, allegedly purchased with money from drug activities.
Haiti's former national police director, Jean Nesly Lucien, also was sentenced to five years in jail for money laundering.
Last April, Therassan pleaded guilty to some charges against him, and agreed to testify against other alleged members of a Haitian drug ring.
Prosecutors say Therassan and other Haitian police officers gave protection to illegal drug shipments arriving from Colombia.
A U.S. trial against alleged Haitian drug kingpin Serge Edouard is due to open Monday.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
