Bissau. The former chief of the navy in Guinea-Bissau has been arrested and is being transferred to the US, local media have reported.Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was picked up on a boat in international waters near Cape Verde, a local broadcaster said.He is described by the US as a kingpin in Guinea-Bissau’s huge drugs trade.The small West African state is a staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe.According to a report by the broadcaster RTC in Cape Verde - the island state off the west coast of Africa - US officials supported by Cape Verde police arrested Na Tchuto and he is expected to face prosecution in the US.He is among a number of military figures in Guinea-Bissau the US believes are heavily involved in the drugs trade.US officials imposed a travel ban and asset-freeze on him in 2010.Last year, the United Nations Security Council warned that renewed political instability was allowing drug trafficking to flourish in Guinea-Bissau.The country saw another military-backed coup in April last year, and the current transitional government does not have full international recognition.
