A Brazilian court has sentenced football legend Pele’s son Edinho to 33 years in prison for laundering money for drug traffickers, media reports said Saturday.
Edson Cholbi Nascimento, nicknamed Edinho, denies the charges in the case, which dates from 2005, and will be allowed to remain free pending appeal, said CBN radio and news site G1.
The Praia Grande criminal court in Sao Paulo also sentenced three other defendants to 33 years and ordered the confiscation of all property seized in the police operation against them, including about 100 cars.
Edinho, 43, is accused of ties with a drug cartel led by Ronaldo “Naldinho” Duarte Barsotti.
But though he admits buying drugs from the cartel, he denies working with them.
Edinho had a relatively low-key career in the 1990s playing for Santos, the same club where his father shot to fame.
Pele — full name Edson Arantes do Nascimento — has seven children. Considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, he won three World Cups with Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.