Last Crewman From ‘Cocaine Ship’ Bust at Philadelphia Port Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison
The freight ship MSC Gayane is seen after USauthorities seized more than 16 tons of cocaine at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 2019. - US authorities said Tuesday they had seized around 16 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of over $1 billion in a historic drug bust aboard a ship at the port of Philadelphia. DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images

Two years after the smuggling attempt of $1 billion worth of cocaine through the Port of Philadelphia, the final cargo ship crewman charged was sentenced to not less than seven years imprisonment on Tuesday.

The federal judge handed out the sentence after the crewman revealed that he had no choice but to participate in the smuggling attempt or he would face death at the hands of the murderous drug cartel.

$1 Billion Worth of Cocaine Seized at Philadelphia Port

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the 28-year-old ship's electrician, Aleksandar Kavaja, said that five days prior in setting sail on the MSC Gayane carrying 20 tons of the illegal drug, a man cornered him at a café in Montenegro.

Kavaja noted that the stranger did not disclose his name but told him he knew who he was and where his family lived.

Kavaja also claimed that the man who cornered him handed him a cellphone and instructed him that once at sea, he should use it to coordinate with cocaine suppliers in South America, who would be meeting the ship on its journey.

The electrician added that the man left just as mysteriously he has arrived but paused to impart a threat. The attorney of Kavaja, Andres Jalon, asked the court Tuesday what were his client's choices.

Jalon noted that if his client did not get on the board or went to the authorities, he would be dead by now.

"He's going to get killed. If he refuses to cooperate while they're at sea, he's going to get thrown over the side," Jalon said.

Aside from Kavaja, the same narrative of menacing cartel figures and intrigue on the accounts of the high sea were also shared by almost all of the other Gayane crewmen who have sought mercy while facing sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III.

Drug Cartel's Total Control Overseas

While the eight members of the ship's crew were now serving prison terms, the men ultimately responsible for smuggling drugs and who stood to profit most likely remain free and unknown to authorities.

Investigators have closely guarded the details of any progress they've made in tracing the source of the drugs, from the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered the illicit cargo in 2019, to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where the drugs were ultimately bound.

Produced in South America, the cocaine was packed for transport to Montenegro, a tiny nation that focuses on staffing international shipping vessels that cartels capitalized on moving cocaine through Europe.

The crewmen have also remained tight-lipped. Just like Kavaja, they said they never knew the identities of the men who recruited them in smuggling the drugs.

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: $1 Billion in Cocaine Seized at Philly Port, Crew Charged - From NBC10 Philadelphia