Court outcomes concerning illegal drugs |16 November 2016

Four men were either convicted or fined in separate drug related cases.
In a first case, the Supreme Court has convicted a 49-year-old Praslinois businessman, Eddy D’unienville, of possession of illegal drugs in a drug trafficking case after he entered a plea of guilty to possession.

He was subsequently fined a total of R12,000 and sentenced to a total of eight months imprisonment in default of payment of the fines.

D’Unienville, who resides at Anse Possession, Praslin was arrested at his residence on July 29, 2016 after he was found in possession of a trafficking amount of drugs, namely 43.785 grammes of hashish and 2.169 grammes of cannabis herbal materials. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was subsequently sentenced by Judge Melchior Vidot.

Mr D’unienville has another case pending for threatening NDEA (National Drugs Enforcement Agency) agents. He has been charged in respect of this offence and released on a R10,000 bail bond with two sureties. The conditions of his bail require that he does not interfere with witnesses in the case, that he does not commit similar offences and to report to the Baie St Anne police station every Wednesday. He is also prohibited from being issued with travel documents by the Immigration authorities.

The NDEA regards this case as being significant due to the level of complaints emanating from residents of Praslin concerning illegal drugs.

A second significant case was also determined during the week and involved Terry Porice, a 37-year-old self-employed carpenter of Bel Ombre. He was arrested at La Louise Lodge on February 3, 2016 in possession of 40 packets of heroin with net weight of 1.39 grammes and some cannabis resin (hashish) weighing 0.14 grammes. Porice pleaded guilty to both counts on September 27, 2016 and was subsequently fined the sum of R18,000. As the fines had not been paid by the due date, Porice was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment.

A third case also finalised this week involved Andy Quatre, a 42-year-old unemployed man from La Gogue. He was arrested at his residence on June 23, 2016 after he was found in possession of 10.10 grammes of substance of which 5.71 grammes was pure heroin. He pleaded guilty to trafficking and was subsequently sentenced by Judge Burhan to 18 months’ imprisonment and a fine of R10,000.

A fourth case involving illegal drugs was also finalised during the week and involved a 32-year-old fisherman, Andy Edward Samedi who resides at Béolière. He was arrested on May 27, 2016 at Béolière after he was found in possession of 25.1 grammes of cannabis herbal materials and 0.06 grammes of heroin. He pleaded guilty before the Supreme Court and was fined a total of R20,000.