MOSCOW, September 30 - RAPSI. Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was sentenced in the United States to 20 years in prison on charges of attempted narcotics smuggling, has appealed his sentence, according to the documents available to the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI).

The sentence was appealed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Prosecutors maintain that Yaroshenko accepted U.S. agents' proposal to carry four tonnes of cocaine from South America to Africa and on to the United States. He arrived to Liberia in May 2010 to discuss his fee with his Colombian partners. He was offered $4.5 million for cocaine transportation from Venezuela to Liberia and $1.8 million more for its delivery to Nigeria and Ghana, from where part of the drugs were to be taken to the United States.

According to the documents, prosecutors allege that the pilot agreed. He was then seized in a sting operation the same month and soon extradited to the United States.

Yaroshenko pleaded not guilty. However, the jury found him guilty in April. The court sentenced him to 20 years in prison in September.

Russia has expressed its concern over the sentence. The Foreign Ministry will seek Yaroshenko's repatriation, ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said.