Tanzanian couple arrested over drugs in China, baby deported back to the country
What you need to know:
- While the DCEA establishes that a couple were arrested in China in January, this year possessing 127 pellets of heroin, reports from India had it that a 31-year old Tanzanian was arrested on Tuesday for smuggling 4.8 kilograms of the substance.
Dar es Salaam. Three Tanzanians have been arrested in China and India over allegations of trafficking illicit drugs, the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) has confirmed.
While the DCEA establishes that a couple were arrested in China in January, this year possessing 127 pellets of heroin, reports from India had it that a 31-year old Tanzanian was arrested on Tuesday for smuggling 4.8 kilograms of the substance.
A statement issued on Thursday, February 15, by DCEA’s intelligence commissioner Frederick Kibuta has it that the couple arrested in China had travelled with a baby aged two years and nine months.
“They were arrested in Zhejiang during their attempt to smuggle heroin into China from Tanzania. While the woman was allegedly found with 80 pellets, the husband had allegedly swallowed 47 pellets of the substance,” Mr Kibuta told The Citizen.
He said while the two suspects were still apprehended in China, their child was deported back to Tanzania on Wednesday.
“Today (Friday), we handed the baby to her grandfather. The official handover will be conducted on Monday,” he said.
But, on Friday, February 16, Mr Kibuta said he was aware reports by foreign media that a 31-year-old Tanzanian was arrested by the India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) allegedly for smuggling in 4.8 kilograms.
“We need to cross-check the information with our embassy in India to establish the truth of the media reporting,” he told The Citizen over the phone.
According to media reports in India, one Brayton N Lyimo was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Tuesday night during his arrival from Mumbai.
“The man was intercepted at the airport as the agency was working on some intelligence inputs on the activities of international drug cartels,” said NCB zonal director Madho Singh, adding, “His contacts in Delhi and few other places are under our scanner.”
Detailed information from the airport says Mr Lyimo was carrying two packets of heroin in his registered baggage and had arrived in Mumbai the day before from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) before travelling to Delhi where he was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
According to reports, Mr Lyimo was given the drugs by an African in Tanzania to hand over to a Nigerian in Delhi.
