German Sniper Sentenced to 20 Years for Attempting to Kill US Agent

US Attorney Preet Bharara said that a former member of the German Army was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to murder an agent of DEA.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — A former member of the German Army was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to murder an agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

"Dennis Gogel used his elite German military training to support a network of underground criminals who were prepared and willing to kill a DEA agent and informant," Bharara stated on Friday.

According to prosecutors, Gogel was recruited in January, 2013 to serve as security for a Columbian drug trafficking organization. During his tenure with the organization, Gogel allegedly agreed to perform contract killings of US agents.

"The job was to kill a DEA agent and a source with the DEA," court documents stated.

In September 2013, Gogel and several co-conspirators travelled to Liberia to commit the planned murders, but were arrested and charged with attempted murder. The group was also charged of trafficking narcotics as Gogel allegedly conspired to import 300 kilograms of cocaine into New York.

Gogel pled guilty to the charges on January 13, 2015.