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Pele's son sentenced to jail for 33 years for laundering of 'drug trafficking' raised money

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ANI London
Last Updated : Jun 01 2014 | 12:30 PM IST

Brazilian football legend Pele's son has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering of money that he raised from drug trafficking.

Pele's son Edinho, who is a retired footballer and played as a goalkeeper for his father's old club, Santos, in the 1990s, was first reportedly arrested in 2005 and has served a sentence for drug trafficking offences and links with a notorious drug dealer in the city of Santos.

According to the Mirror, Edinho has admitted that he is a drug addict but has denied the trafficking charges.

The ruling regarding the case was reportedly issued by a judge in the coastal city of Praia Grande, in Sao Paulo state.

The Brazilian media is reportedly expecting Edinho to appeal, even thought they have not been able to contact Pele's son.

Edinho is Pele's third son from his first marriage and was only five when the family moved to New York to play for Cosmos and on returning to Brazil the legend's son decided to purse a career in professional football as a goalkeeper.

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However, Edinho's detention and alleged involvement with drug gangs reportedly took most people in Brazil by surprise.

Pele, who went to visit his son several times in jail, in 2006 said that God willing, justice would be done, as there is not a shred of evidence against his son.

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First Published: Jun 01 2014 | 12:13 PM IST

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