By Takudziridzwa Nyama
A Harare Magistrate has sentenced 27-year-old Vitalis Kudrjasovs, a Latvian national to 15 years in prison for attempting to smuggle 8.35kg of heroin through Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
He was also fined US$5,000, and in the event of non-payment, he will serve an additional five years in prison.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), Kudrjadovs checked in at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, cleared all the customs formalities and handed in his luggage for baggage clearance. He was bound for India on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
His luggage was flagged at the ground scanner after Airport Aviation Security personnel manning the scanner noticed some suspicious contents in his luggage.
His two bags were subsequently searched in his presence, and four packages containing heroine were found stashed in some compartments in the bags.
The NPAZ has reiterated its commitment to prosecuting drug dealers and drug traffickers expeditiously.