EMASWATI IN E500M DRUG BUST IN NAMIBIA

mfanukhona@times.co.sz

MBABANE – Emaswati have been cited for the wrong reason in Namibia. In a 2018 report on dagga smuggling in that country, Namibian police say most of the suspects who bring the illegal herb in large quantities were citizens of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga from the Namibian Police Service reported that E500 million worth of dagga was intercepted and confiscated by the law enforcers since 2017.

He said a large consignment of the drug came from emaSwati. It is reported that there are about 20 emaSwati languishing in Namibian jails. Other locals are serving jail time in Botswana.

Other nationals blamed for the influx of cannabis were South Africans, Angolans, Malawians and Zambians.
Police said people from these four nations traded with their Namibian counterparts. 

In fact, of the E421 372 503 (N$421 372 503) worth of illicit drugs confiscated, nearly half, which is E206 million was seized in a single bust in May 2018 at the Walvis Bay port.
It was the largest bust in Namibian history as 412kg of illicit drugs was intercepted by the police and customs officials.

Ndeitunga told law enforcement officers at Walvis Bay on Monday that statistics showed that drugs mostly abused in Namibia included dagga, mandrax, cocaine, crack and ecstasy. Dagga, mandrax and cocaine are also the most trafficked drugs into Namibia.

He said since January last year, 35 suspects have been arrested at various entry points while in possession of drugs, and some of these apprehended people were emaSwati.
“Most of the suspects are Namibian, South African, Angolan, Swazi, Malawian and Zambian nationals,” he said.

Over 20 in Namibian jails

It has been established that more than 20 emaSwati have been arrested in Namibia for dealing in dagga, and others have been sentenced to imprisonment without an option of a fine.

It is understood that Namibia and Botswana have well paying hotspots for dagga. South African drug dealers also consider these two countries as new fascinating dagga trade destinations.

During mid-May 2018, police in Namibia arrested a South African and a Swazi (Liswati) national for possessing dagga weighing 171 kilogrammes with a street value of E171 050.
They were given effective five-year jail terms after they had pleaded guilty.

In 2016, an appeal lodged by an Eswatini national against a three-year sentence he received for dealing in dependence-producing drugs, namely 4 384kg of cannabis, was dismissed Appeal Judges Dinah Usiku and Alfred Siboleka.

three-year imprisonment
The name of the Liswati cannot be revealed because he is presumably out of jail after he was sentenced to three years imprisonment, and one year was suspended.
He was found guilty on his own admission of transporting drugs into Namibia via the Trans-Kalahari border post for the purpose of selling it in Walvis Bay.
The total street value of the drugs was estimated at E21 290 calculated at E5 per gramme.

Testimony led during the trial is that Deseree Beukes, who at the time was attached to the Drug Law Unit of the Namibian police, received a phone call from the Trans-Kalahari border post about a man who was found in possession of cannabis. She and another officer then proceeded to the border post where they found Dlamini already detained.

He was handed to them together with five parcels of cannabis that were allegedly found on his person.
His vehicle was then searched and six more parcels of cannabis were recovered.

It was also established that the appellant had travelled from Eswatini en route to Walvis Bay. He explained to the police that he had friends in Namibia and that he was to deliver the drugs in Walvis Bay.

The parcels of cannabis were weighed in his presence and weighed 4 384kg.
The cannabis was properly identified by its unique smell, colour and its uneven leaves containing seeds.

Court judgment

 It was further mentioned in the judgment that the Eswatini national did not deny being in possession of the cannabis at the time of his arrest and that he confirmed that he wanted to come and sell the cannabis, thereby admitting to dealing in cannabis.

He further confirmed that at the time he arrived in Namibia he had hidden the cannabis, which he intended to sell in Walvis Bay, Judge Usiku who wrote the judgement, said.

He was thus sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with one year suspended for five years on condition that he is not found in possession of dependence-producing drugs during the time of suspension.

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