2 Seychellois arrested in Brazil for possession of cocaine

The logo of the Anti-Narcotics Bureau of Seychelles. (Anti-Narcotics Bureau)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Two Seychellois citizens were arrested in Brazil in June in possession of cocaine, the Anti- Narcotics Bureau (ANB) of Seychelles said Wednesday.

The Bureau said the Embassy of Brazil for Seychelles based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania confirmed the arrest of the two Seychellois citizens on June 25 through the Seychelles’ Department of Foreign Affairs.

The two Seychellois were arrested by the Brazilian Federal Police at Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo in possession of 3.36 kg of cocaine while trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa.

According to the Anti-Narcotics Bureau, the suspects are a 48-year-old male driver and a 41-year-old self-employed female wholesaler couple from Perseverance, a reclaimed island on the outskirts of the capital Victoria. The couple were arrested last year by officers of the ANB when 81 grammes of heroin were found in their house at Perseverance. They were not charged as there was insufficient evidence.

The communiqué said that the “Brazilian Embassy has stated that the Federal Police of Brazil has informed that, due to regulations of the Brazilian law, they are not authorised to provide additional information about their arrest, such as criminal proceedings.”

It added that the Brazilian Embassy “will approach the judicial authorities of Brazil for more information.”

In confirming the arrests of the two Seychellois, the Brazilian Embassy has also indicated that the arrested female reported her arrest to her daughter through a telephone call.

Seychellois travelling abroad are reminded of the importance of respecting the laws of other countries and that by not doing so they may end up placing themselves under the criminal jurisdiction of the country in question.

Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, has a 'zero tolerance' policy for possession and use of illegal drugs.