A Latvian man must serve 15 years in prison for trying to move drugs through an airport in Harare. Vitalijs Kudrjasovs is 27 years old. He was caught with 8.3 kg of heroin.
Magistrate Donald Ndirowei gave this sentence after a full court case. The man must also pay $5,000 US dollars or the same amount in local money based on bank rates. If he does not pay, he will stay in jail for five more years.
Kudrjasovs came to Zimbabwe as a visitor. Police arrested him on September 8, 2022. He was about to fly on Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa and then to India.
Court records show he went to the airport at 3 p.m. with two bags. After check-in, he told officials his bags contained only clothes.
Airport workers found something wrong when his black bag went through the scanner. They saw strange images on the screen. When asked again, Kudrjasovs said there were only clothes.
Staff checked the bag with police and customs officials present. They found a hidden part inside with four packages of brown stuff. Tests proved it was heroin.
The heroin weighed 8,350.2 grams. Its street value was ZWL$6,680,160. The science lab later confirmed it was heroin.
The magistrate said this was a serious crime. He stressed the need to stop drug traffic in the area.
Magistrate Donald Ndirowei gave this sentence after a full court case. The man must also pay $5,000 US dollars or the same amount in local money based on bank rates. If he does not pay, he will stay in jail for five more years.
Kudrjasovs came to Zimbabwe as a visitor. Police arrested him on September 8, 2022. He was about to fly on Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa and then to India.
Court records show he went to the airport at 3 p.m. with two bags. After check-in, he told officials his bags contained only clothes.
Airport workers found something wrong when his black bag went through the scanner. They saw strange images on the screen. When asked again, Kudrjasovs said there were only clothes.
Staff checked the bag with police and customs officials present. They found a hidden part inside with four packages of brown stuff. Tests proved it was heroin.
The heroin weighed 8,350.2 grams. Its street value was ZWL$6,680,160. The science lab later confirmed it was heroin.
The magistrate said this was a serious crime. He stressed the need to stop drug traffic in the area.
