Man swallowed Sh76m cocaine haul, court told

Dar es Salaam. A man swallowed cocaine with a street value of Sh76 million and smuggled it into Tanzania from Brazil, the High Court heard yesterday.

Pedro Alfredo Chongo, alias Salum Shaaban, had 90 pellets of cocaine in his stomach when he was arrested at Julius NyerereInternational Airport, shortly after arriving on a Qatar Airways flight on April 4, 2011, State Attorney Veronica Matikila told Lady Justice Grace Mwakipesile.

She said the accused defecated the pellets on 13 occasions over five days.

Chongo developed serious abdominal complications after passing 65 pellets in a police cell at JNIA and was rushed to Muhimbili National Hospital, where he released 25 pellets.

“A day after his arrest he began complaining of severe stomach pains. Police took him to Muhimbili Hospital, where he passed more pellets,” Ms Matikila told the court.

Chongo was discharged from hospital after doctors confirmed that he no longer had drugs in his stomach. A sample of the substance passed by Chongo was taken to the Chief Government Chemist for analysis, and it was confirmed to be cocaine.

The accused was later questioned by officers from the Police Anti-Drugs Unit, and confessed to drug trafficking, the court heard.

But Chongo, a resident of Magomeni Mikumi, Dar es Salaam, denied trafficking in drugs and disowned forms allegedly signed by him, police and independent witnesses whenever he passed pellets of cocaine.

Chongo was travelling on a Mozambican passport when he was arrested. The document, issued in Mozambique, was tendered in court as an exhibit.

The prosecution has lined up 16 witnesses, while the defence has called up four.

The trial case is among nine high-profile drug cases the High Court started hearing in Dar es Salaam yesterday. It is a record number of drug cases to be heard in a single High Court session.

In another development, the High Court yesterday issued a warrant for the arrest of two Pakistanis who jumped bail and fled the country after they were charged with trafficking in heroin with a street value of Sh6.2 billion.

Lady Justice Mwakipesile also ordered that the fugitive’s sureties present themselves before the court and explain the whereabouts of Abdul Ghan Peer Bux and Shahbaz Malik.

They were arrested in 2010 along with Tanzanians Fred William Chande and Kambi Zubeir Seif, who were present in court yesterday.

Those who stood surety for the fugitives were Mr Mohamed Bahishi Mr Nazar Mohamed Nuru, both residents of Dar es Salaam.

The case had come for preliminary hearing yesterday when Lady Justice Mwakipesile sought to know where the other two accused were. Their lawyer, Mr Yasin Memba, told the court he had no information on their whereabouts.

State Attorney Theophil Mutakyawa said the two had violated bail conditions by not appearing before the court.

“I view of this, the State requests that a warrant for the arrest of the two accused who jumped bail be issued,” he said. The case was adjourned to a date to be set by district registrar of the High Court.

The four were allegedly arrested in 2010 with 180 kilogrammes of heroin and subsequently charged with drug trafficking.

High Court Judge Upendo Msuya later granted a request for bail by the accused’s lawyers.

The decision sparked an outcry by anti-drugs activists. A number of MPs demanded an explanation in Parliament as to why the accused were released on bail despite the offence they had been charged with not being bailable.

Section 148 (5) (a) (ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code forbids the granting of bail to people charged with drug trafficking.

The Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the decision in the Court of Appeal, saying it was 

However, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision on the grounds that the prosecution had not stated the value of the drugs and that the charge sheet was defective because the nationality of the accused was not mentioned.