The son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau was sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison for involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy, the US Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, 52, planned to use the proceeds to finance a coup in the West African country that would lead to his eventual presidency and establishment of a drugs regime, according to the statement released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasnt any ordinary international drug trafficker, said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office. He is the son of the former president of Guinea-Bissau and was trafficking drugs for a very specific reason - to fund a coup.

Sanha was a leader and organizer in the heroin trafficking conspiracy and was involved in its importation from Europe to the United States, according to the statement.

He was arrested along with a co-conspirator after arriving in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in July 2022. They were extradited to the United States shortly afterwards.

In September 2023, Sanha pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for unlawful importation, according to Tuesdays statement.

He was sentenced to 80 months in prison.

Guinea-Bissau has had a history of military coups interspersed with periods of democratic rule - though elected leaders managed to serve a full term since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Sanhas father, Malam Bacai Sanha, was initially installed by a junta as interim leader in 1999 before he lost the election the following year.

He won the presidency in a 2009 election, but died while seeking medical treatment in Paris in January 2012 before completing his term.

His son, known as Bacaizinho in Guinea-Bissau, has served in several government roles, including as an economic advisor to his father. (AFP)