PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

A Malaysian boat captain was fined TT$2.5 million (US$416,000) after a Magistrate's Court found him guilty of importing cocaine valued at TT$35 million (US$5.8 million) into the country.

Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim imposed the fine on Kumar Thiagarajan 39, after the drugs were found last weekend in a container of pineapples on the vessel, MV CSAV Peru. The captain who pleaded guilty to the charges, was also fined TT$125,000 (US$20,833) for making a false declaration.