Pubdate: Saturday,July 17,1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: News,page 29 FORMER SURINAME LEADER SENTENCED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING A Dutch court sentenced the former ruler of Suriname to 16 years in prison and a $2.3 million fine Friday for running a cocaine-smuggling ring in his South American homeland. But Dutch authorities will first have to catch the former leader, Desi Bouterse, who remains at large and politically powerful in Suriname, a former Dutch colony on the northeast coast of South America. He was convicted in absentia. Authorities charged that shipments worth an estimated $24 million were taken out of Suriname from 1989 to 1997. Most of the drugs were brought to the Netherlands, they said. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart