Julia Kamarenga
Edgar Brandt
Ten of the 14 men nabbed over the weekend in the ginormous N$11.9 million drug smuggling bust at the Trans-Kalahari border post in the Omaheke region appeared in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 19 April. All of the accused were denied bail and the case was postponed to 13 July 2022 for further investigation.
Three of the detained men were released as they claimed they were merely taxi and shuttle operators hired to further transport the illicit goods. A fourth accused is in hospital recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained during the arrest.
The accused were detained during the Easter weekend, when a truck with massive illegal consignment entered the Namibian border. The unlawful cargo was identified during a routine scan and analysis by customs officials. Scanned images exposed part of the load entering the country differed from declared documents.
According to a statement from the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), a subsequent physical inspection revealed the truck was carrying crack cocaine worth N$39 000, more than 10 000 Mandrax tablets valued at more than N$1.2 million and cannabis valued at over N$10 million. In addition, seven vehicles used by the suspects to collect the illegal consignment were also seized during the operation.
Upon questioning, the truck driver indicated the consignment was destined for different owners in Windhoek which prompted the police to conduct a control delivery operation. This helped law enforcement officers to swiftly arrest the owners.
The accused are Augustus Nambinga (48 ), Maritz Joel Garoeb (23), Elton Keib (37), Charlie Rooi (35), Tangeni Shaanika (28), Elmon Afrikaner (32), Raul Ramazan (23), Frans Awaseb (26), Arafat Neuako (30) and Manase Boois (18) all from Windhoek.
Omaheke Police head of drug law enforcement Daniel Pietersen has warned the public about the use of drugs. “Drugs are destroying the youth. We cannot deny that, at the end of the day, they will have criminal records that count against them when they are looking for jobs,” he said.
Pietersen further called on the community with information about drug dealers to inform the police, saying the fight against drugs should not be left solely to police officers.
The NamRA statement, issued by Steven Ndorokaze, indicated that during the last two weeks, close to N$1 million was collected in administrative penalties for undervalued goods, undeclared goods and false declarations.
“Additionally, three trucks with trailers valued at N$4.9 million have been detained, subject to further police investigations; on suspicion of being smuggled into the country,” Ndorokaze stated. In addition, more than 8 000 pieces of undeclared goods worth over N$351 000 have been seized. This seizure resulted from several enforcement operations targeting the illegal trade of pharmaceutical products, wines and spirits as well as unlicensed minerals.