Tanzania: Suspected Drugs Trafficker Verdict Enhanced to Life Imprisonment
THE Court of Appeal has enhanced to life imprisonment, the 20 year custodial sentence imposed on Greece national, Alexandris Athanansios, for trafficking in 5.43 kilogrammes of heroin hydrochloride, which are dangerous narcotic drugs.
Justices Augustine Mwarija, Barkeh Sahel and Patricia Fikirini ruled against Athanansios, the appellant, reached into a decision after noting the earlier punishment provided was against the law. They also dismissed his appeal against both conviction and sentence passed against him by the High Court.
During hearing of the appeal, the appellant had contended, among others, that the trial court erred in holding that he trafficked in narcotic drugs and that the charge against him was proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.
He submitted that the trial court erred in holding that the defence case did not manage to raise any reasonable doubt against the prosecution case and that the chain of custody was not broken from the point of seizure, analysis to being tendered in court.
In their judgment, the justices of the appeals court, having evaluated the evidence tendered during the trial they found the chain of custody of the drugs in question was intact and not broken in any way, as there was tight testimony of unbroken chain of custody, though there were minor contradictions.
“The unbroken chain of custody has been elaborately accounted for orally. The evidence led has proved what was impounded from the appellant was narcotic drugs. The suspected drugs were securely kept (and) proved as heroin hydrochloride and not flower, as the defence wanted to pick on,” they said.
The appellant had also challenged the evidence on the seizure at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) of the drugs substance from the appellant’s bag on account of failure by the prosecution to tender the bag before the court.
However, the justices pointed out that there was abundant evidence on the record showing how the drugs were retrieved and impounded from the appellant’s bag. The substance, they said, was proved to be a drug known as heroin hydrochloride, weighing 5.43 kilograms.
The appellant, Alexandris Athanansios was indicted in the High Court at Dar es Salaam for the offence of trafficking in narcotic drugs. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years in prison and payment of 977,400,000/- fine, which is equivalent to three times the value of the narcotic drugs involved.
On February 23, 2014 at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) within Ilala District in Dar es Salaam, the appellant, who was travelling to Athens Greece via Zurich aboard Swiss Air, was arrested on suspicion of having carried in his baggage some narcotic drugs.
It was stated that on the fateful day at Terminal II international departure area upon screening the appellant’s bag, an unusual substance was noticed by a certain officer, who was on duty at the airport. This prompted him to summon a security officer at the JNIA.
After a thorough search, another officer who was witnessed by the security man and the appellant found the bag zipped at the bottom. In the presence of such officers, the shift in charge and the appellant, the zip was broken and therein a black plastic packet smeared with coffee was found at the bottom of the bag.
The appellant who was present during the search and who introduced himself as Alexandris Athanasios, produced his passport, which showed that he was a citizen of Greece. After signing the seizure certificate the appellant was taken to JNIA Police station, where he was interrogated.
He admitted that he was carrying narcotic drugs in the bag and recorded a cautioned statement in that regard. The substance weighed 5.43 kilograms and the preliminary testing conducted depicted the substance to be heroin hydrochloride.
By Daily News.
