Man gets 10 years for drug trafficking |13 September 2011

The arrest -- a further significant development in the NDEA’s (National Drugs Enforcement Agency) drive against international drug traffickers, followed a sophisticated drug smuggling operation that was conducted across three continents and several countries.

The operation has succeeded in smashing what is believed to have been a successful drug importation business between drug dealers from Belgium and Seychelles.

The intelligence-led operation resulted in the arrest of a total of four persons, one of whom, a 39-year-old Belgian national, Natascha Breugelmans, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment last April for illegally importing drugs into Seychelles.

The operation to intercept the consignment occurred the day after Breugelmans had delivered her consignment of drugs to a number of local drug traffickers. The remaining two who were arrested are awaiting trial in the Supreme Court.

In addition to the discovery and subsequent seizure of the drugs, the NDEA operation also uncovered hundreds of thousands of cash in a number of different denominations including US dollars, Euro and Seychelles Rupees. All of the indications are that this was a major drug smuggling ring with links to international drug traffickers.

It is believed that the drug originated along the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, eventually finding its way to Kenya and ultimately to its final destination in Seychelles.

The NDEA team work closely with their international counterparts in the fight against the drug barons who continue to target the local market with heroin and cannabis that is produced in some of the main narcotic markets of the world.

The drugs are sourced by local traffickers and smuggled into the country using sophisticated routes and rouses to defeat the efforts of law enforcement agencies who are engaged in a constant battle against the smugglers.

The sentence imposed in this case is a clear signal that those convicted of drug trafficking activities can expect to spend a lengthy period in prison.

NDEA communique