The Windhoek Regional Court has issued a subpoena against a man who was initially arrested in connection to N$5 million worth of heroin that was found at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in 2016.
Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt summoned former suspect Clint Chundre Hill (27) to take the witness stand in the ongoing trial of former Air Namibia flight crew member Percival Mensah.
“The court orders the clerks to issue a subpoena for Clint Chundre Hill to come and testify before court on 19 February,” ordered Diergaardt.
Hill was initially charged alongside the 37-year-old Mensah, but the prosecution withdrew the charges against him in September 2018 due to lack of evidence.
Currently, Mensah is being tried alone on a count 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 10,27 kg of heroin.
Mensah denied all the charges. In his defence that was presented in court by his lawyer Jan Wessels, Mensah said that he is not disputing that he was at Hosea Kutako International Airport on the day, because he was part of the cabin crew employed by Air Namibia, but he deny he had any dealing in heroin.
Mensah allegedly received the drugs found in the suitcase with which he was to travel from Namibia to Frankfurt from his old friend Hill. Further stating that he had no idea that the bag had drugs in it.
However, Detective Sergeant Lukas Lukas from the Namibian police drug unit, testified that on 16 December 2016, the police together with Mensah went through the contents of his bag. Upon inspecting the luggage, they allegedly found male clothes and underneath the pile of clothes was an extra bag.
Lukas further 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. He allegedly showed up later to claim and inspect the luggage with the police.
Mensah is currently out on N$10 000 bail.
– mamakali@nepc.com.na