A notorious British criminal referred to as The One has been implicated in a significant cocaine smuggling operation alongside ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, according to a recent indictment from the United States. Robert Dawes, also known as The Voice, received a 22-year prison sentence in France for orchestrating a massive £216 million drug shipment that American prosecutors now allege involved Maduro. The former president and his spouse, First Lady Cilia Flores, are currently detained in New York’s Metropolitan Detention Centre following their removal from Caracas by US special forces.
The charges against them include conspiracy to engage in narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and stockpiling weapons intended for use against the United States. The indictment details Maduro and two high-ranking government officials’ involvement in trafficking 1.3 tonnes of cocaine via an Air France flight from Caracas to Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris in September 2013. The drugs were concealed in 31 unclaimed suitcases on the flight, indicating possible complicity of security personnel at Maiquetia Airport in Caracas. Allegedly, Maduro held an urgent meeting with Diosdado Cabello Rondon, current Minister of the Interior, and Hugo Carvajal Barrios, former head of military intelligence, following the seizure.
According to the US Department of Justice, Maduro instructed Rondon and Barrios to avoid using the airport for future drug trafficking activities and instead rely on established routes and locations to transport cocaine. Maduro also purportedly ordered the arrest of several Venezuelan military officials to divert attention from his role in the shipment and its subsequent cover-up, as stated in the 25-page indictment.
The Venezuelan authorities apprehended 22 individuals connected to the significant cocaine seizure, which was the largest ever intercepted in France at the time. The group included eight National Guard members and nine Air France and airport personnel. At the time of the operation, Maduro had recently assumed the presidency following the passing of former leader Hugo Chávez in 2013. In a conversation recorded in a Madrid hotel in 2014, Dawes boasted to two Colombian drug traffickers about his involvement in the Paris drug shipment.
Despite international perception labeling Maduro as a harsh dictator, he vehemently denies any association with drug cartels. He accuses Donald Trump of leveraging the “war on drugs” as a pretext to oust him and gain control of Venezuela’s oil reserves. The legitimacy of the operation has sparked global contention regarding international law compliance. Maduro pleaded not guilty during a recent hearing, asserting his innocence and describing himself as a respectable leader of his country.
Dawes, known as the “Teflon Don,” evaded capture for years by utilizing violence, corrupt officials, and sophisticated anti-surveillance tactics. Operating across multiple jurisdictions, he maintained connections in over 50 countries, including Afghanistan, China, Italy, Nigeria, Colombia, and New Zealand. Despite his criminal background, Dawes managed to establish a powerful criminal organization with a reputation for violence and control.
Initially fleeing to Spain in 2001 to evade arrest, Dawes remained a person of interest in the 2002 assassination of Nottingham businessman David Draycott. His criminal activities finally caught up with him in 2015 when he was apprehended at a luxury resort in Benalmadena, Spain. Subsequently, Dawes was sentenced in Paris for the cocaine smuggling scheme and later received a life sentence in the Netherlands for orchestrating a murder plot against an innocent school teacher.
Dawes’ involvement in ordering the hit on Gerard Meesters, resulting in the teacher’s untimely death, painted him as the mastermind behind the crime. Prosecutors emphasized that Meesters had no ties to Dawes’ criminal enterprise and was targeted solely to instill fear in others. Dawes’ former hitman, Daniel Sowerby, who executed the murder, was also convicted in the Netherlands. The victim’s son confronted Dawes during court proceedings, expressing the enduring pain caused by his father’s senseless death and condemning Dawes for his callous actions.