happiness ChikwanhaZvikomborero Parafini
TWO Indians, one Latvian, 23.7 kilogrammes of heroin seized at the RGM International Airport in Harare, in just ONE MONTH.
The numbers are just staggering and, in a graphic way, illustrate the growing drugs problem, which is now facing this country.
When one considers there is a likelihood part of the contraband slipped through the scrutiny of the security forces, whose vigilance has to be commended, the situation becomes even more frightening.
What cannot be denied is that Zimbabwe has probably become a key transit point for these drug barons who are using the same routes, a flight to Addis Ababa and then off to India.
On Friday, an Indian man appeared in court after being allegedly found in possession of 7kgs of heroin.
Ronald Florentius Paes, 66, was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Taurai Manuwere, who remanded him in custody.
Earlier last week, another Indian man, Gowda Nabin Chandra, 61, was also arrested and appeared in court after being found in possession of 7.7kgs of heroin.
The court heard that on Wednesday last week, detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit received a tip-off that Paes was in possession of heroin, which he intended to smuggle to India.
The detectives waylaid Paes at the RGM International Airport and intercepted him during check-in time.
They observed Paes was carrying a red bag, a black suitcase and a backpack.
Paes did all the check-in formalities and handed over the red bag to be loaded as baggage.
The police then approached him and requested to have the bag scanned.
The bag was taken to the aviation security scanner which detected that it had suspicious content.
The bag was opened in his presence and the police allegedly recovered two transparent bags of heroin glued to the bottom side of the bag.
Upon arrest, the police established that Paes had an Indian passport and had boarding passes to Addis Ababa en-route to India.
They recovered 7.3kgs of heroin.
His Indian counterpart, Chandra, was found in possession of 7.7kgs of heroin.
He has already appeared in court.
Chandra, 61, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Taurai Manuwere.
He was remanded in custody.
The court heard that last Sunday, cops from the CID Narcotics Unit received information that Chandra was in possession of a navy-blue suitcase, which had suspicious contents, at the RGM International Airport.
They went to the screening area, where he had completed immigration and customs formalities, to board an Ethiopia Airways flight.
He was summoned to the scanning point where his suitcase was searched and the police recovered the heroin stuffed in the lining of the bag.
The contraband was tightly wrapped with brown adhesive tape packed in a transparent polythene pack.
Chandra was arrested and it was established that he had an Indian passport and an air ticket to Addis Ababa, en-route to India.
A preliminary field test was done on the contraband in his presence and it tested positive for heroin.
Earlier this month, a Latvian man, Vitalis Kudrjasovs, was also arrested at the same airport and appeared in court over similar drug charges.
Kudrjasovs was also flying to India via Addis Ababa.
The recovered heroin weighed 8.7kgs.
However, questions have also emerged over the street value of the contraband, which is being prescribed in local courts.
The questions have been largely centred on the following:
·Are these the average street value of heroin, around the world, today or it’s just a case of our miscalculation?
·Would a Latvian risk jail to come to Zimbabwe to smuggle heroin worth about US$9 523?
·Would an Indian businessman risk jail by trying to smuggle heroin from Harare worth about US$9 777?
According to the authoritative www.addictionresource.com website, the average street value of heroin is “US$30,000 per kilo.”
The local courts appear to value the average price of heroin on the streets to between US$1 190 to US$1269 per kilogramme.
Online Reporter