Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher Coke asks judge for leniency

A Jamaican drug kingpin who admitted his leadership in an international crime ring is asking a federal judge in New York not to sentence him to the maximum 23 years.

Drug lord Christopher Coke wrote a seven-page letter to Justice Robert Patterson Jr of Manhattan federal court asking for leniency and citing his "charitable deeds and social services" in Jamaica such as providing free school supplies for children.

The New York Times reports that the 42-year-old Coke also told the judge that he had recently lost his mother and she was calling for him on her deathbed. And he said his eight-year-old son misses him.

Coke pleaded guilty to racketeering and assault charges last month.

US authorities describe him as one of the world's most dangerous drug dealers.

AP