The Saturday, December 8, 2007 issue of the Houston Chronicle reported on page A6 that Belize native Duane Seawell, 34, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge James Graham to 17 years in federal prison. Seawell had pleaded guilty in July to money laundering and two counts of shipping cocaine into the United States.
Prosecutors said Seawell was part of a plot that extended from Belize to United States cities, including Houston. The scheme involved shipping cocaine to the U.S. in the shoes of young people recruited as couriers.
Seawell was sentenced in Columbus, Ohio.