A 23 year old Brazilian national, Jelani Hasan James was sentenced to ten years in prison for dealing in drugs by the Kempton Park Magistrate’s court. This sentence comes after an extensive investigation which spans from 29 March 2018 when the suspects was handed to SAPS by SARS members at O.R Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) as he disembarked from a Sao Paulo flight.
The suspect was then taken for x-rays which revealed foreign object in his stomach. Upon him releasing the object, it was confirmed that he had swallowed 55 bullets containing cocaine with an estimated street value R825000 00. The suspect was arrested. Jelani James was found guilty and sentenced on Friday, 18 January 2019 to 10 years in prison for dealing in drugs.
A total of 43 persons were convicted for Section 49 related crimes upon appearing in court and were found guilty of the offences which range from being found in possession of fraudulent travel documents, work permits, asylum papers etc. These suspects paid admission of guilt fines between R2500 – R5000.
Most of the suspects have since been deported to their land of origin and have been deemed unsuitable to visit this country. Five of the suspects were found guilty and sentenced to either pay a fine or 6 months imprisonment. Nine suspects were arrested on warrants. The suspects were being sought for fraud, traffic infringements, defeating the ends of justice and malicious damage to property.
One suspect was arrested after he failed to return a rented vehicle which was subsequently found on the N3 after it sent a power fail alert to the rental services.
Still on Friday, a 31 year old woman was picked out during a random search. She was taken to x-ray for a check-up. The x-ray revealed foreign objects in her stomach. The suspect has released some of the foreign objects and police suspect some of them were released during her flight.
The suspect is appearing in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court this morning for dealing in drugs.
ORTIA is continuing with the implementation of the multidisciplinary intervention at the airport. The multi-disciplinary task team that has been established to fight crimes at the airport and keep it safe. The members of the task team include Home Affairs, SARS, EMPD, ACSA, Dept. of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries among others.
There has been breakthrough made as a result of the on-going integrated multidisciplinary proactive fight against crime at the OR Rambo International Airport, especially the proliferation of drugs coming into and through the airport.
The law enforcement agencies at ORTIA have no space for drug dealers/peddlers in this country. These substances and their precursors are ravaging our communities and such arrests bear testimony to the commitment of this team to rid this country of drugs and drug dealers.
The community is encouraged call our Crime Stop number 0860010111 with useful information that can assist in combating of crime. Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with strictest confidence.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
