Cops crack drug syndicate
The Namibian police are probing the involvement of Brazilian drug kingpins in fuelling the addiction of local youth to cocaine and its crystallised derivative - crack - which is leaving a swathe of destruction across the country.
Police and customs officials have made what could potentially be the biggest drug bust in the history of Namibia - 412kg of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value N$206 million at the port of Walvis Bay on Friday.
Erongo deputy police commissioner Erastus Iikuyu confirmed the arrest of two suspects - Namibians aged 32 and 62.
They have been charged with dealing in cocaine and are likely to appear in court today.
According to Iikuyu, customs information indicates the container arrived at the port of Walvis Bay on 9 June from Brazil via South Africa.
“The container was cleared and kept at the port under surveillance, in anticipation of the owners coming to claim it. When they eventually pitched on Friday, it was opened in their presence,” he said.
“Customs officials and the police conducted a search and discovered a substance we suspected to be cocaine. A case (CR 01/06/18) of dealing in cocaine was opened at the port police office and investigations continue.”
Iikuyu also condemned the release of an internal police report via WhatsApp that included details of the operation and the identities of the suspects.
This information was subsequently published as is by various media houses on social media, he said.
“This internal report was not intended for media consumption and could compromise our investigation. It is the norm not to reveal the names of suspects before they are charged and appear in court. The men that were arrested are suspects and the possibility of them being charged or released is still open and depends on the outcome of laboratory examination of the exhibits,” Iikuyu said.
He emphasised that only laboratory tests, which still needed to be conducted, could determine if it was actually cocaine that was discovered, adding sufficient evidence were needed before more information could be released.
He said the laboratory tests could take a considerable amount of time.
Various theories have also emerged on how the suspected contents in the container were detected.
According to a reliable source, who was at the scene after the discovery was made, the substance was packed and stacked in 480 photocopy paper boxes and was detected by the scanners at the port.
Another source ascribed the detection of the suspicious substance to a tip-off and said it was the result of a joint operation between Namibia and Interpol.
Drugs gateway
The strategic position of ports and connecting transport corridors, which allow Namibia to compete as a transport hub for regional and international trade between the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) countries, Europe,
Asia, the Americas and the rest of the world, has also made it vulnerable to the drugs trade.
Cocaine, and especially its crystallised derivative called crack, has been cutting a swathe of destruction across Namibia, with addicts increasing at the coast, in Windhoek and the north.
Statistics for the period 2012 to June 2015 provided, by the Namibian drug law-enforcement unit to the media, showed that drugs worth N$15 million were confiscated.
Nearly 4 million kilograms of cannabis with an estimated street value of N$11.6 million was seized during the period.
The police also seized N$1.8 million worth of cocaine, N$577 745 worth of mandrax tablets and N$307 700 worth of crack cocaine.
At the time, it was revealed that a total number of 3 125 Namibians were arrested on charges of being in possession of drugs, as well as a further 307 foreign nationals.
Among the foreign nationals arrested on drug-related charges between 2013 and 2014 there were 57 Zambians, 27 Angolans and 19 Congolese.
At least 10 Namibian women are currently imprisoned in South Africa and Brazil for drug trafficking, police spokesperson Edwin Kanguatjivi revealed in 2015.
At the time there were also 36 foreigners in Namibian prisons detained for drug trafficking, the majority of who are from Nigeria, Tanzania, Burundi, Congo, Zambia and Angola.
Kanguatjivi said further at the time that these statistics are not surprising, considering that foreign syndicates often lure desperate women with promises of luxury and instant riches.
OTIS FINCK
Erongo deputy police commissioner Erastus Iikuyu confirmed the arrest of two suspects - Namibians aged 32 and 62.
They have been charged with dealing in cocaine and are likely to appear in court today.
According to Iikuyu, customs information indicates the container arrived at the port of Walvis Bay on 9 June from Brazil via South Africa.
“The container was cleared and kept at the port under surveillance, in anticipation of the owners coming to claim it. When they eventually pitched on Friday, it was opened in their presence,” he said.
“Customs officials and the police conducted a search and discovered a substance we suspected to be cocaine. A case (CR 01/06/18) of dealing in cocaine was opened at the port police office and investigations continue.”
Iikuyu also condemned the release of an internal police report via WhatsApp that included details of the operation and the identities of the suspects.
This information was subsequently published as is by various media houses on social media, he said.
“This internal report was not intended for media consumption and could compromise our investigation. It is the norm not to reveal the names of suspects before they are charged and appear in court. The men that were arrested are suspects and the possibility of them being charged or released is still open and depends on the outcome of laboratory examination of the exhibits,” Iikuyu said.
He emphasised that only laboratory tests, which still needed to be conducted, could determine if it was actually cocaine that was discovered, adding sufficient evidence were needed before more information could be released.
He said the laboratory tests could take a considerable amount of time.
Various theories have also emerged on how the suspected contents in the container were detected.
According to a reliable source, who was at the scene after the discovery was made, the substance was packed and stacked in 480 photocopy paper boxes and was detected by the scanners at the port.
Another source ascribed the detection of the suspicious substance to a tip-off and said it was the result of a joint operation between Namibia and Interpol.
Drugs gateway
The strategic position of ports and connecting transport corridors, which allow Namibia to compete as a transport hub for regional and international trade between the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) countries, Europe,
Asia, the Americas and the rest of the world, has also made it vulnerable to the drugs trade.
Cocaine, and especially its crystallised derivative called crack, has been cutting a swathe of destruction across Namibia, with addicts increasing at the coast, in Windhoek and the north.
Statistics for the period 2012 to June 2015 provided, by the Namibian drug law-enforcement unit to the media, showed that drugs worth N$15 million were confiscated.
Nearly 4 million kilograms of cannabis with an estimated street value of N$11.6 million was seized during the period.
The police also seized N$1.8 million worth of cocaine, N$577 745 worth of mandrax tablets and N$307 700 worth of crack cocaine.
At the time, it was revealed that a total number of 3 125 Namibians were arrested on charges of being in possession of drugs, as well as a further 307 foreign nationals.
Among the foreign nationals arrested on drug-related charges between 2013 and 2014 there were 57 Zambians, 27 Angolans and 19 Congolese.
At least 10 Namibian women are currently imprisoned in South Africa and Brazil for drug trafficking, police spokesperson Edwin Kanguatjivi revealed in 2015.
At the time there were also 36 foreigners in Namibian prisons detained for drug trafficking, the majority of who are from Nigeria, Tanzania, Burundi, Congo, Zambia and Angola.
Kanguatjivi said further at the time that these statistics are not surprising, considering that foreign syndicates often lure desperate women with promises of luxury and instant riches.
OTIS FINCK
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