Pubdate: 13 Feb.1999
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Section: News,page 3

NESTLE EXECUTIVE,4 OTHERS FREED AS DRUG CASE SETTLED

An appellate court in Zacapa,Guatemala,cleared a former Nestle
executive and two other men of drug charges Friday and reduced the
sentences of two other Swiss men, enabling all five to walk free.

Citing insufficient evidence, a three-judge panel overturned a
September conviction of Andreas Haenggi Wyndler on drug-smuggling
charges. The case against Haenggi, 62, his son Nicholas Haenggi
Chalandrian, 23, and three others had involved shipments of cocaine
worth $100 million sent from Guatemala to Europe in shipping
containers and ornamental plants.

"I'm very pleased with the decisions, but after 18 months in prison,
my client was there too long," said Andreas Haenggi's lawyer, Fernando
Linares. "Justice took too long."
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