Cocaine trial to resume in April

THE trial of the two Angolan nationals who are accused of trafficking more than N$20 million worth of cocaine through Namibia at the end of 2007 is scheduled to continue in the High Court in Windhoek in mid-April.

Having heard the testimony of four State witnesses in the trial of Daniel João Paulo (42) and Josué Manuel Antonio (44), Judge Collins Parker on Friday postponed the two alleged drug traffickers’ case until April 16.The trial was postponed after defence lawyer Percy McNally had wrapped up his cross-examination of Namibian Police Drug Law Enforcement Unit member Frans van Wyk.Sergeant Van Wyk, who is stationed at Keetmanshoop, was the person who discovered a hidden compartment under the Toyota Land Cruiser in which Paulo and Antonio were travelling when they were stopped at a Police roadblock outside Keetmanshoop in the early morning hours of December 20 2007.Van Wyk told the court last week that he found 62 packets, wrapped in plastic and brown adhesive tape, in the compartment under the vehicle. The packets are alleged to have contained a total of 30,1 kilogram of cocaine, which has a Namibian street value of about N$15,5 million.That quantity of cocaine was already the largest single hoard of the drug to have been seized by the Police in Namibia until then.The record was pushed up even further nine months after that discovery and the arrest of Paulo and Antonio. Van Wyk testified that on September 30 2008 an additional 9,24 kg of cocaine, with a Namibian street value of N$4,625 million, was found in the spare wheel of the two Angolans’ vehicle where it had been kept in a garage at Keetmanshoop Police Station.Paulo and Antonio are charged with three counts of dealing in cocaine, alternatively possession of the drug – with the charges relating to quantities of 30,1 kg, 9,25 kg and a combined 39,35 kg of cocaine respectively. They pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of their trial before Judge Parker on Tuesday last week.While being cross-examined by McNally, Van Wyk told the court that the compartment under the vehicle could only be seen if one went underneath the vehicle. The compartment resembled an extra fuel tank that had been added to the vehicle, he said.McNally told Van Wyk on Friday that according to the two charged men, the owner of the vehicle asked Paulo to drive the car from Angola to South Africa for him. Paulo in turn asked Antonio, who had a SADC driving licence, to help him to get the vehicle to South Africa.Neither of them had any reason to look under the vehicle to check for a hidden compartment, and they were not aware of the existence of the compartment or of its contents, McNally said. The first time that they saw the cocaine that was discovered in the compartment was when Van Wyk started taking the parcels out from under the vehicle, McNally relayed his instructions from the two accused.According to documentary evidence that was provided to the court during last week, Paulo and Antonio entered Namibia through the Oshikango border post on December 16 2007.Van Wyk told the court earlier last week that he suspected that there might be cocaine in the car when he detected the smell of the drug inside the cabin of the vehicle. He also testified that inside the vehicle he found two bottles of perfume, a can of car air freshener, four rolls of brown adhesive tape, and a pop rivet gun and pop rivets of the kind that had been used to attach the hidden compartment to the underside of the Land Cruiser.Paulo and Antonio are remaining in custody until their trial continues.Deputy Prosecutor General Johnny Truter is representing the State in the trial.