When the bulk carrier UBC Savannah left the US port of New Orleans in February 2019 for Columbia, Captain Andrzej Lasota never imagined that when the ship arrived at its subsequent port of call of Altamira in Mexico, his world would turn upside down.
And when Captain Lasota began his career at sea in 1969 at the age of 14, he never imagined that his 52-year seafaring career would end on the floor of a Mexican prison.
Captain Lasota shares his story in an interview in support of BIMCO’s campaign to raise awareness about the rights and protection of seafarers.
In July 2019, the Cyprus-flagged ship UBC Savannah left the US port of New Orleans and headed for Santa Marta and Barranquilla in Columbia. At Barranquilla, the ship loaded coking coal and began its voyage towards Altamira, Mexico.
“During loading in Columbia, the police arrived and said they suspected there were narcotics on board the ship. They carried out an inspection of the whole ship but didn’t use dogs due to the dust and smell of the coal. The team leader explained that the dogs could not find anything because the odour of the coal in the hatches would override the odour of narcotics. With the anti-narcotics team present, we closed and sealed the hatches and sealed the compartments not in use. We left Columbia after having followed all the rules and procedures required.”
The next day, the ship was placed under arrest.
“They told us to step off the ship. That’s when I knew we would be arrested. I knew that if we stepped ashore, as we were told to do, they would arrest us. I called the lawyer. I did not want everyone to be arrested. I kept thinking that we could not abandon the vessel because it’s against safety procedures. I asked the prosecutor to do the investigation on board, but they declined. On 29 July, the police arrested eight of our crew for interrogation. They returned to the ship three days later.”
On 5 August, during an International Ship and Port Facility Security procedure, Captain Lasota and the crew were hand- and leg cuffed by the military and police. The crew consisted of two other Polish and 19 Filipino seafarers. They were charged with bringing banned substances into Mexico, an offence that is punishable for up to 20 years in prison.
“They came at 6 am, heavily armed. They ran to the accommodation and broke into the cabins using crowbars. Our personal belongings, money and cameras disappeared. We informed the Polish and Filipino consulates and their officials arrived and spoke to some Mexican lawyers. They had no evidence of us being involved in smuggling. I took documents and statements from the crew stating that we had done everything correctly and according to procedure. We had reported the drugs when we found the bags, just as we were supposed to do. I prepared all this on the computer and managed to send it out via satellite.”
The captain and the crew were taken to a Mexico state prison. Here, they spent their first month together. At one point, Captain Lasota was taken to hospital for examination.
“The drive to the prison took three hours. We were cuffed on our legs and our hands. The prison had no roof, no food, no running water and nowhere to sleep except two concrete beds for all 22 of us.”
About a month later, in early September 2019, Captain Lasota and the crew were summoned to court. It was ruled that only the ship’s Master should remain in prison. The rest of the crew were released, and Captain Lasota was now alone.
“Then the pandemic came, and the General Prosecutor stalled the process at his discretion. My lawyers asked for home arrest or arrest at the Polish embassy for my safety. This was denied.”
In May 2020, Captain Lasota was formally charged with being a danger to the Mexican nation and for bringing drugs into the country. He now faced up to 20 years in prison. He was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Tepic. Before the final court appearance, he was offered a deal which would see him serving a shorter sentence in Poland if he pleaded guilty. Lasota declined.
“My lawyer said we did everything we were supposed to do and confirmed in court that we did not bring the drugs on board and into Mexico. The judge was professional and allowed experts to join the court case via an online hearing due to the pandemic. This is not common practice, but the experts made their statements and answered questions because the prosecutor and his office had no knowledge of Maritime law. The language barrier was a problem from the beginning. The persecutor was supposed to find a translator, but he never did, and three local translators fled when they found out that this was a drug case. Finally, my wife took action and a translator from Poland was hired.”
The case was postponed numerous times as the pandemic raged. Now in solitary confinement, the captain once again fell ill and communication with his family back home was difficult as the prison staff calling them only spoke Spanish. At last, on 18 March 2021, after 20 months in prison, Captain Lasota was to appear in court.
“I was transported by car to Victoria. It took two days and I only had water. During the trial, the prosecution stated that I knew about the cargo and that I had participated in the smuggling. They had no evidence. I made a statement and my lawyer argued once more that the drugs were planted during loading in Columbia.”
Sentencing was to be done 24 hours later, on 19 March 2021. On this day, Captain Lasota was acquitted by the judge and due to be released within 48 hours. Lasota said there had been no proper investigation and that he had not been interrogated or questioned while in prison. He was told it wasn’t necessary. The captain was secretly flown home four days after his trial.
“I was escorted from the court room and was released from the Victoria prison, accompanied by a lawyer and the Polish Consul. I ran out because I believed the prosecutor would try to stop me by using immigration procedures. We went to the car waiting outside which took me to another Mexican state. If I crossed into the other state, I would be safe. I was flown to Mexico City and taken to the Polish embassy for safety. Then I was taken to the airport and flew home."
The many months in prison had taken a toll on the captain’s health.
“I spent 20 months in Mexico’s Victoria state prison and the high security Tepic Federal Prison. I lost 43 kg and was ill twice due to poor prison conditions and conditions in general that were below human dignity. I had no phone contact with my family during the first six months in the Tepic Federal Prison.”
Captain Lasota was 66 years old when he was released from prison. He has not gone back to sea because of his deteriorating health. Despite his ordeal, he looks back on his 52-year career at sea with no regret.
“The biggest pleasure for me was to travel all over the world, visiting countries, exploring ports, going fishing while at anchor and eating the fish. When I was seven years old, my mother bought me a seafarer uniform. It all started then. I was curious about fishing, and I read a lot of adventure books about seafarers. After completing primary school, I chose the maritime school. Of course I miss it! If my doctor would let me go back, I would be ready in two hours.”
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