Most of the sailors will live temporarily in a rental home owned by defense attorney Richard Cox. [Bjorn Brunvand] said the captain, Yuri Chakhrach, will stay with him until he can return to his home in the Ukraine.

Yalta was brought into the Port of Tampa in the summer of 2003, less than a day after leaving Colombia, carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine, officials said. The sailors were tried for more than five weeks before a federal judge in Tampa. The jury returned Tuesday, acquitting 15 and remaining hung on a 16th. That man, Milkintas Arunas, will be retried in August.

Tampa Tribune – Tampa, Fla.
Author: Elaine Silvestrini and Thomas W. Krause

Drug Charges

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