Multiple arrests follow half kilo heroin haul |06 July 2009

Working in tandem with immigration and customs officials at the Seychelles International Airport, the NDEA officers used passenger profiling techniques to identify the 52-year-old Pakistani man, Tariq Mehmood, as a potential drug courier.

A subsequent CT scan at Victoria Hospital revealed that he had swallowed over 50 tightly packed “bullets” of heroin, with a street value estimated at around SR2 million.

Mr Mehmood arrived in Seychelles from Pakistan, after transiting in Dubai, on June 30. After arresting Mr Mehmood, the NDEA investigation into the case has resulted in the arrest of a number of individuals. The investigation into the case is continuing.

“The seizure of this quantity of drugs is a major achievement in curbing drug crime in Seychelles. It has also provided us with significant leverage against a number of people we suspect of being heavily involved in major drug smuggling operations,” said Inspector Winsley Francoise of the NDEA.

Mr Mehmood has been remanded in custody and the Pakistani consul has been informed of his arrest.

The NDEA has also been in liaison with Interpol and their Pakistani drug-enforcement counterparts to use information from the case to help shut down the flow of drugs from Pakistan to Seychelles.

A previous NDEA operation succeeded in smashing a major Pakistani drug trafficking team operating in Seychelles. This operation resulted in the trial and sentencing of five Pakistani nationals. Amongst those arrested was the man believed to be the group’s regional coordinator, who oversaw the supply of illegal drugs to Mauritius and other countries around the Indian Ocean.

The attempt by Mr Mehmood to bring heroin into Seychelles is believed to be the first such attempt by a Pakistani national in over six months, following the previous operation.

The heroin swallowed by Mr Mehmood has been tightly packed in cellophane-wrapped plastic capsules. Although tightly sealed, once swallowed the packaging is corroded by acid in the courier’s stomach and should a capsule burst the release of such a large amount of heroin into the courier’s body would result in near-instant death.

“The people used as couriers often come from relatively poor and deprived circumstances and put their lives at risk by swallowing these drugs for the drug trafficking gangs. Arresting the couriers keeps the drugs off the streets, but equally important is arresting and prosecuting the leaders of the drug gangs who drive this highly damaging business,” said Inspector Francoise.

Heroin imported into Seychelles is often at a high degree of purity and is then mixed with other substances by drug dealers, increasing their profits and adding to the health risks faced by heroin users.