NDEA seizes R2m worth of heroin |29 October 2012

In a communiqué, the NDEA says that the drugs, which have a street value of almost R2 million, were concealed in a book being carried in the luggage of a 37-year-old Kenyan national.
 
The drugs were discovered on the evening of October 26 as part of a joint effort by the immigration and customs departments and NDEA agents during the course of a routine check and search of passengers arriving from Ethiopia.

In a follow-up operation, the communiqué adds, a team of NDEA agents working undercover throughout the night of October 26 and into the morning of October 27 staked out a number of locations. The operation succeeded when agents intercepted a Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) bus and shortly afterwards a taxi driver – both of whom were operating in the vicinity of Anse Royale – and arrested both of them and conveyed them to the NDEA headquarters.

One of those arrested is a prominent businessman from Anse Royale, married and in his forties, with business interests in fisheries, building construction and a taxi business. The second man arrested is employed as a bus driver and is the father of a young child from Point Larue.

The use of the Seychelles International Airport to smuggle drugs has long been a concern for the NDEA and the agency is appealing to all stakeholders using the airport to come together to try to end this abuse.

The agency is firmly of the view that with all of the agencies working together and cooperating with each other, smuggling of drugs through the airport would be much more difficult.

All three men who were arrested as part of this operation will be detained in custody pending their appearance in court today, Monday October 29, when they are expected to face serious charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The agency also cautions those who may be tempted to traffic in drugs that convictions for drug-related offences have recently been increased and carry heavy sentences, including the seizure of assets acquired as a result of drug trafficking.