Court in Seychelles releases South African arrested in connection with seized cannabis
General |Author: Daniel Laurence Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | September 8, 2017, Friday @ 10:36| 5370 views
Seychelles' courts building 'Palais de Justice' at Ile du Port, where also sits the Supreme Court. (Seychelles News Agency)
A 62-year-old South African national arrested in connection to a case of conspiracy to import a controlled drug and importation of a controlled drug was released by the Seychelles Magistrate court on Thursday.
The South African national and eight Seychellois who were arrested by the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) for the same case appeared in the court Thursday after being remanded on August 25th.
A total of 36 kilograms of what is believed to be cannabis resin were seized in connection with the case during an operation conducted by the National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA).
As part of the exhibit, in this case, the agency has also seized one local fishing vessel and a yacht.
The Magistrate court also released an 18-year old female while the other suspects were taken to the Supreme Court where they were officially charged with the offence of importation of a controlled drug.
Among the suspects, a 22-year-old female was released on bail with conditions which include surrendering all travel documents; one suspect is still in the Intensive Care Unit after an attempted suicide.
The other suspects are being remanded and will appear before the court on Friday, September 15.
The prosecutor of the Office of the Attorney General, George Thachett, requested that the accused remain in custody while the case is ongoing, because, “they might interfere with witnesses, thus, tempering with the case.” Thachett added that some might have the intention to abscond.
Speaking to SNA, one of the defence lawyers, Nicole Gabriel, said that the suspects' attorneys have asked the court to give them more time to discuss the evidence presented by the prosecutors with their clients.
“As lawyers of the accused, we need to evaluate the evidence and present what we call a written objection to the court if we have any,” said Gabriel.
The case is being heard by Judge Ronny Govinden.