30-Year Prison Sentence for Duo Who Smuggled 1.5kg of Heroin in Mauritius

Two South African nationals, Joel Methula and Lorrantia Ncwane, have each been handed a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to importing 1,523.7 grammes of heroin into Mauritius.

The verdict was delivered yesterday at the Assizes by presiding judge Mehdi Manrakhan. The seized drugs have an estimated street value of Rs 22.9 million.

The pair were intercepted at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport on April 21, 2018, having arrived on an Air Mauritius flight from Johannesburg. At the time of the offence, Methula was 32 and Ncwane was 28.

While no contraband was immediately found when their luggage—a suitcase carried by Methula and a women’s bag carried by Ncwane—was searched, officers became suspicious due to the bags’ excessive weight.

The heroin was subsequently discovered concealed within the lining after the luggage was cut open.

In passing sentence, Judge Manrakhan stressed that the court had repeatedly warned against drug importation into Mauritius, which he described as a small country with a small population.

He stated that the “devastating effect” of drugs on Mauritian society is “hardly comparable to larger countries such as the United Kingdom.”

The judge underscored the necessity of a strong deterrent, warning: “If leniency was to be shown to couriers, this would send the wrong signal, both locally and internationally, that mules could simply come here and infect the population with deadly substances in all impunity.”

He added that drug trafficking cannot function without intermediaries and it was vital to send a robust message to others tempted by financial gain to act as drug mules.

Source: l’Express