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Home / Court postpones multi-million dollar heroin case

Court postpones multi-million dollar heroin case

2019-07-25  Staff Reporter

Court postpones multi-million dollar heroin case

WINDHOEK - Submissions before judgment in the case of a former cabin crew member of Air Namibia, accused of trying to smuggle N$5 million worth of heroin was yesterday postponed to August 16 by Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt.

State prosecutor Fillemon Nyau and defence lawyer Jan Wessels were scheduled to present their arguments before Magistrate Diergaardt in the Windhoek Regional Court, however this could not happen due to the unavailability of Wessels. 

Percival Mensah, 37, stands accused of dealing in or possessing 10,27 kilogrammes of heroin valued at about N$5 million, and a charge of acquiring, possessing or using the proceeds of unlawful activities, in the form of 10,27kg of heroin.

The prosecution alleges that on December 17, 2016 the police discovered drugs during a routine inspection before departure at Hosea Kutako International Airport. Police detected a suspicious substance that was later confirmed to be heroin hidden in the cabin attendant’s check-in luggage for an Air Namibia flight destined for Frankfurt. 

According to Detective Sergeant Lukas Lukas from the Namibian police drug unit, on December 17, 2016 the police together with Mensah went through the contents of his bag. “Upon inspection, we found male clothes and underneath the pile of clothes was an extra bag,” explained Lukas.

Lukas informed the court that inside the extra bag they found 10 parcels with substances suspected to be heroin.

Mensah allegedly vanished from the airport after police officers started to make enquiries about the ownership of the luggage in which the suspected drugs had been detected, and did not depart on the flight to Germany as scheduled.

This happened before the search as he had returned and handed himself over.
During the trial, Mensah through his defence lawyer Jan Wessels denied any wrongdoing. Wessels said that they are not disputing that Mensah was at Hosea Kutako International Airport on the day, because he was part of the cabin crew employed by Air Namibia, but they deny he had any dealing in heroin. Mensah allegedly received the alleged drugs found in the suitcase with which he was to travel from Namibia to Frankfurt from an old friend by the name Chandre Hill. 

Further stating that he had no idea that the bag had drugs in it.
Hill, 26, was initially charged alongside Mensah, but the prosecution withdrew the charges against him in September last year due to lack of evidence.


2019-07-25  Staff Reporter

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