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Maltese drug trafficker's partner loses baby in Brazilian jail
Romanian national Silvia Stanica, who was arrested in Brazil together with her Maltese partner Duncan Petroni on cocaine trafficking charges, has reportedly lost her baby while in jail according to family sources.
5 August 2010, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
2 min read
MaltaToday is informed that 29-year-old Silvia Stanica, who lived in Malta with Duncan Petroni, has suffered a severe psychological trauma after her arrest, and miscarried while in custody in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. The family was informed by a Maltese missionary in Brazil who currently is the only link with the authorities there.
Stanica, who is also mother to a four year-old son, has been in jail in Brazil since 24 June, when a joint sting by the Federal Police and the US Drug Enforcement Agency raided a house where she stayed with her partner Duncan Petroni.
Both were caught in possession of 13 kilos of pure cocaine that was being packed into air condition unit compressors, with the intent to export to the UK and subsequently to Malta. Stanica has reportedly claimed that she knew absolutely nothing about the drugs, and that she travelled with Petroni to Brazil for a holiday.
In fact her arrest was initially reported to be ‘temporary’ as investigators were not certain if she was involved in the cocaine trafficking ring between Brazil and Malta. However, the fact that she was caught in the same house where the drug was being prepared for export, compromised her position in the eyes of Brazilian prosecutors, who are accusing her of complicity.
Meanwhile, Duncan Petroni’s family have still not heard from either Duncan or Silvia Stanica who are held in separate wings within the notorious Parana’ State Penitentiary, known for its overcrowding and tough conditions.
Maltese police have continued to investigate Petroni’s arrest in Brazil, with a number of arrests and interrogations of suspected financers and accomplices in the cocaine trafficking ring.
According to Superintendent Marcos Coren, chief spokesperson for the Brazilian Federal Police, cocaine trafficking between Brazil and Malta through the same gang that was arrested in Curitiba during ‘Operacao Malta’ had successfully managed to export 15 kilos of cocaine to Malta a few months before.
Nine Brazilians, including the suspected mastermind, close to a well known Mexican cartel was also arrested following the sting.
Albert Zammit •
Well, women lose their babies in the best circumstances, let alone having all that worry and trouble and stress, as well as not easy conditions of a jail. And she has her husband to thank. Always if he is really guilty, obviously.
