Latvian man sentenced to 15 years for smuggling heroin

Jerry Chifamba
Vitalis Kudrjasovs, a 27-year-old Latvian national, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after attempting to smuggle 8.35 kilograms of heroin through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
The incident occurred in September 2022 when Kudrjasovs checked in for a flight bound for India, cleared customs, and handed over his luggage for baggage clearance, only to be intercepted by airport security after suspicious contents were detected in his bags.
In addition to his 15-year prison sentence, Kudrjasovs was ordered to pay a fine of US$5 000.
Should he fail to pay the fine, he faces an additional five years behind bars.