Panama ex-world champ gets 5-years

Panama boxer Celestino “Pelenchín” Caballero, who won world titles in two weights, has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.

“Pelenchín” was arrested on the Madden highway, in Chilibre, on March 10, 2016, when he was transporting at least 10 kilos of drugs in his car. Half of the drugs were in the trunk and the others in a plastic bag.

The next day, Caballero pleaded guilty to trafficking in illicit substances and through his lawyer, Víctor Orobio, apologized to his fans.

On April 7, 2017, the Second Superior Court of Justice admitted the direct judgment request.

The First Criminal Court of Panama sentenced the former champion, on January 31.

The former professional boxer competed from 1998 to 2014. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Super) and IBF super bantamweight titles between 2006 and 2010, and the WBA (Regular) featherweight title from 2011 to 2012.