Maritime drug trafficking case |02 October 2020
Percy Samson sentenced to 8½ years imprisonment
Percy Charles Samson, a 52-year-old resident of Cascade, the principal drug offender in the July 2020 maritime drug trafficking case, was yesterday sentenced to two terms of eight and a half years’ imprisonment at the Montagne Posée Prison.
He was facing charges for three counts of drug offence, namely; conspiracy to commit the offence of importation of a controlled drug, conspiracy to commit the offence of trafficking in a controlled drug and trafficking in a controlled drug by means of organising, managing or financing an offence.
These offences generally carry a minimum 8 years to a maximum 50 years prison sentence.
On September 18, 2020 Samson pleaded guilty to; conspiracy to commit the offence of trafficking in a controlled drug and trafficking in a controlled drug by means of organising, managing or financing an offence, a total of 180.32 kilogrammes of herbal cannabis which is the biggest seizure of drug yet recorded for the year 2020 by the Anti-Narcotics Bureau (ANB). The eight and a half years’ imprisonment for each count of the offence will run concurrently and the time spent on remand will be deducted from his sentence.
The ANB of the Seychelles Police Force has expressed disappointment at Samson’s sentencing and not satisfied with the weight of the sentencing, given the seriousness and number of offences committed in this case.
As for the other six accused in this case, all Seychellois males, their case will be trialled before the Supreme Court. They were all charged before the Supreme Court on August 28, 2020 with several drug related offences and they have all been on remand since their arrest by ANB officers, late in July 2020.
Five of the accused were arrested in possession of the drugs on July 29, 2020 on a sailing yacht, at sea, within the Seychelles EEZ, during a joint coordinated marine operation which had the participation of ANB, the National Information Sharing and Coordination Centre (NISCC), Seychelles Air Force and Seychelles Coast Guard (SPDF) followed by the arrest of Samson and the seventh accused on July 31, 2020 at Petit Paris.
ANB communique