Three Tanzania’s Zanzibar nationals on Tuesday appeared in court in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam charged with trafficking 10 kilograms of heroin.
The prosecution, led by state attorney Ashura Mnzava, told the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court that the three accused persons were on Aug. 11, 2021, arrested at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam an attempt to smuggle the drugs out of the country.
Their arraignment came almost five months after 11 people were brought before the same court charged with trafficking 20.24 kilograms of heroin.
The court presided over by Senior Resident Magistrate Joseph Lwambano did not allow them to enter a plea to the charge because the charges against them fall under the Economic and Organized Crime Control Act whose cases are tried by the High Court’s Corruption and Economic Crime Division upon completion of investigations.
Since the offence under which the accused persons were facing is not bailable, the magistrate ordered them to remain in custody, pending the completion of the investigations and subsequent committal proceedings of the case to the trial court.
The case was adjourned to Sept. 7, 2021, to allow the prosecution to complete relevant investigation. Enditem
