By Elisinio Castillo

Earlier this year, former world champion Celestino "Pelenchin" Caballero was sentenced to five years in prison for drug related charges.

The sentence was carried out in the First Criminal Court, in which Caballero reiterated his guilt and manifested his regret for what happened.

On March 10, 2016, the former boxer was arrested in the North Corridor, in the direction of the province of Colon, after packages of cocaine were found in his vehicle. Officers seized a total of 10.87 kilos of drugs.

Earlier today, Judge Orminda Miranda of Panama announced that Caballero would be released in order to perform community work in Colon.

After Caballero was arrested, the World Boxing Association (WBA) suspended him from his position as deputy director of their integral development and security committee for events that place in the country.

Caballero announced his retirement from the ring in 2014 after a serious injury to his retina, after he suffered a tough loss at the hands of Mexico's Adrian Estrella.

During his pro run, the 41-year-old Caballero won the super bantamweight titles of the WBA and the International Boxing Federation. He also captured the interim-WBA international featherweight title.

The Panamanian boxer retired with a record of 43 bouts, with 37 wins (24 knockouts), six losses and a draw.

After his arrest, Caballero acknowledged the facts, apologized and said through his lawyer that he would "never again" take part in such activity.

According to his defense, which was handled by lawyer Sheyla Miller, the boxer was in a vulnerable situation as he faced economic problems and did not have a fixed job. He also asked that the court consider that he wasn't aware of anything related to criminal laws and gave his full cooperation to authorities.

According to the Public Ministry, he had five kilograms of drugs hidden in the trunk of his vehicle and five kilograms in a plastic bag.