Heroin smuggler to be sentenced

A TANZANIAN citizen who has admitted that he tried to smuggle a consignment of heroin through Namibia is to be sentenced in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court today.

The 39-year-old Yussuph Ommary Kimimbi is one of only a few heroin smugglers to have been arrested and prosecuted in Namibia to date.After close to two years in custody following his arrest, Kimimbi pleaded guilty to a charge of dealing in a prohibited dependence-producing drug two weeks ago.He admitted that on October 6 2010 he was caught dealing in 440 grams of heroin, valued at about N$220 000.While Namibia has experienced a wave of arrests of cocaine smugglers since mid-2009, the smuggling of heroin into and through Namibia has remained a rarely detected crime so far.The last reported case in which people were sentenced for heroin trafficking in Namibia dates back to November 2000. In that case, two Tanzanians who had admitted that they dealt in 100 grams of the drug as well as in 3 303 Mandrax tablets were sentenced in the Windhoek Regional Court, with one receiving a prison term of ten years and the other sentenced to a six-year term.On average, the people arrested smuggling cocaine into Namibia since mid-2009 have been sentenced to an effective eight years’ imprisonment each.With the opiate heroin generally considered to be a deadlier and more addictive drug than its dangerous stimulant cousin cocaine, the sentence to be imposed on Kimimbi could serve as an important warning for other potential heroin dealers or smugglers who might consider plying their trade in Namibia.Kimimbi’s defence lawyer, Flora Gaes, asked Magistrate Justine Asino to extend mercy to Kimimbi and to sentence him only to a fine and a suspended prison term. She said he could afford to pay a fine of up to N$10 000.Gaes told the magistrate that Kimimbi, who is the father of three children, had been working in South Africa as a fire fighter for about two years before he was arrested.She also said that according to Kimimbi he had been visiting Tanzania when someone approached him and asked him to transport the drugs to South Africa. He was promised N$7 000 for the job, Gaes said.Kimimbi did the crime because he was in need of money, she said.The court also heard that Kimimbi was arrested after the drugs had been found in his possession at a road block near Rehoboth.Public Prosecutor Taodago Gaweseb argued that the courts have a special duty to protect society from crimes like drug trafficking. Even with first-time offenders it has been the norm that a direct term of imprisonment has been imposed by Namibia’s courts, he said.He suggested that Kimimbi, considering the time he has already spent in custody, be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, of which one year could be suspended.