Cocaine suspect released on bail

SUSPECTED cocaine courier Bruno da Silva Paiva yesterday tasted success with a second attempt to be granted bail while a drug-dealing charge against him remains pending.

Paiva (29), the first person in Namibia to face a cocaine-dealing charge, in which it is alleged that he had tried to smuggle the drug into Namibia inside his stomach, may be released from Police custody if he deposits bail of N$20 000 and meets a set of conditions, Magistrate Sarel Jacobs ordered when he made his ruling at the end of a second bail application by Paiva in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday. While the Magistrate’s ruling spelled the end of almost five months in Police custody for Paiva, the bail conditions – if they are met – would continue to curtail his freedom of movement while he waits for the case against him to be finalised.Magistrate Jacobs ordered that if Paiva is released on bail, he has to report at the Windhoek Police Station every morning, noon and early evening.In addition to that, he will be under virtual house arrest through the night.Between 20h00 each evening and 06h00 the next morning, Paiva must remain at the house in Dorado Park where he told the court he would be staying if released on bail, the Magistrate directed.He further ordered Paiva to surrender all his travel documents to the Police officer investigating his case and not to apply for new documents for himself or his daughter until the case has been finalised.Paiva, who was represented by lawyer Sisa Namandje during his second bail application, has to appear in court again on September 28.At that appearance he will be asked to plead to a charge of dealing in dangerous dependence-producing drugs.He was arrested on April 25, after his 26-year-old wife, Darlin da Silva Paiva, died in the couple’s flat in Windhoek due to a suspected overdose of cocaine.She died a couple of hours after she and Paiva had arrived back in Namibia following a visit to Brazil.The overdose is claimed to have been the result of a cocaine-smuggling operation that went terribly wrong.According to the Police, 31 small plastic packages, containing 410 grams of cocaine, were found in her stomach during an autopsy.One of these makeshift containers had started releasing cocaine into her system, causing her death, it is suspected.Paiva himself had 13 similar packages, containing 175 grams of cocaine, in his digestive system, it is alleged.Altogether, the couple is accused of having smuggled cocaine with a street value of N$292 500 into the country.Paiva, who was born in Angola, has been living in Namibia for the past 13 years, Magistrate Jacobs noted in his ruling yesterday.He has obtained Namibian citizenship through his marriage to his late wife, the Magistrate also noted.During Paiva’s second bail application – the first application ended in late June with Magistrate Jacobs refusing to grant Paiva bail – the court heard that he had N$20 000 available that he could deposit as bail money, the Magistrate recounted.He said this was a substantial amount that Paiva could not afford to lose if it had to be forfeited because he absconded after being released on bail.While the charge that Paiva faces is serious, it is not a foregone conclusion that Paiva will be sentenced to imprisonment if he is convicted, which should be another incentive to persuade Paiva to adhere to his bail conditions and to return to court to face the charge against him to the end, the Magistrate also said.He added that the conditions that he attached to the bail granted to Paiva should be suitable to help the Police monitor Paiva after his release.Paiva deposited the N$20 000 to be released on bail yesterday afternoon.Public Prosecutor Petrus Grusshaber represented the State during both Paiva’s bail applications.While the Magistrate’s ruling spelled the end of almost five months in Police custody for Paiva, the bail conditions – if they are met – would continue to curtail his freedom of movement while he waits for the case against him to be finalised.Magistrate Jacobs ordered that if Paiva is released on bail, he has to report at the Windhoek Police Station every morning, noon and early evening.In addition to that, he will be under virtual house arrest through the night.Between 20h00 each evening and 06h00 the next morning, Paiva must remain at the house in Dorado Park where he told the court he would be staying if released on bail, the Magistrate directed.He further ordered Paiva to surrender all his travel documents to the Police officer investigating his case and not to apply for new documents for himself or his daughter until the case has been finalised.Paiva, who was represented by lawyer Sisa Namandje during his second bail application, has to appear in court again on September 28.At that appearance he will be asked to plead to a charge of dealing in dangerous dependence-producing drugs.He was arrested on April 25, after his 26-year-old wife, Darlin da Silva Paiva, died in the couple’s flat in Windhoek due to a suspected overdose of cocaine.She died a couple of hours after she and Paiva had arrived back in Namibia following a visit to Brazil.The overdose is claimed to have been the result of a cocaine-smuggling operation that went terribly wrong.According to the Police, 31 small plastic packages, containing 410 grams of cocaine, were found in her stomach during an autopsy.One of these makeshift containers had started releasing cocaine into her system, causing her death, it is suspected.Paiva himself had 13 similar packages, containing 175 grams of cocaine, in his digestive system, it is alleged.Altogether, the couple is accused of having smuggled cocaine with a street value of N$292 500 into the country.Paiva, who was born in Angola, has been living in Namibia for the past 13 years, Magistrate Jacobs noted in his ruling yesterday.He has obtained Namibian citizenship through his marriage to his late wife, the Magistrate also noted.During Paiva’s second bail application – the first application ended in late June with Magistrate Jacobs refusing to grant Paiva bail – the court heard that he had N$20 000 available that he could deposit as bail money, the Magistrate recounted.He said this was a substantial amount that Paiva could not afford to lose if it had to be forfeited because he absconded after being released on bail.While the charge that Paiva faces is serious, it is not a foregone conclusion that Paiva will be sentenced to imprisonment if he is convicted, which should be another incentive to persuade Paiva to adhere to his bail conditions and to return to court to face the charge against him to the end, the Magistrate also said.He added that the conditions that he attached to the bail granted to Paiva should be suitable to help the Police monitor Paiva after his release.Paiva deposited the N$20 000 to be released on bail yesterday afternoon.Public Prosecutor Petrus Grusshaber represented the State during both Paiva’s bail applications.