South African national sentenced to 25 years for drug trafficking

South African national Mosobi James Koma has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and a fine of Rs 200,000. The verdict was delivered on Friday, October 15, after Mauritius’s Assize Court’s Judge Luchmyparsad Aujayeb found him guilty of importing 2,743.92 g of heroin.

Mosobi James Koma, 56, was arrested on April 30, 2018 at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport by customs officials. He had disembarked from a plane from Johannesburg.

Local newspaper Defi reported that on examining his suitcases, customs officials discovered several packages wrapped in tape contained heroin. The drug was estimated to have a street value of over Rs41 million.

Defi cited Koma as telling local police he worked as a sheriff for a court. And he ran a transport company after losing his job as a sheriff. He apologized and said he was unaware that the suitcase contained drugs.