The High Court of Sierra Leone has handed down one of the country’s heaviest narcotics sentences, convicting a 37-year-old South African national to a cumulative 130 years in prison for cocaine smuggling.
Honourable Justice Andrew S.C. Johnson found the defendant, Asandra Denise, guilty on a five-count drug indictment.
However, in a key sentencing decision, the judge ordered that all five sentences run concurrently, meaning she will serve a maximum of 30 years, calculated from the date she was first remanded in custody.
According to court records, Denise, a resident of Nenvonds in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, was arrested at Freetown International Airport in Lungi after security operatives discovered her in possession of 365 pellets of compressed cocaine weighing approximately 5.4 kilograms.
She pleaded not guilty to charges including unlawful possession, dealing, collecting, importing and transporting of prohibited drugs without lawful authority.
During the trial, state prosecutor I.A. Kamara Esq. called three witnesses, including a forensic toxicologist who testified that laboratory analysis of samples from the seized pellets confirmed the presence of cocaine hydrochloride. Defence counsel Ibrahim Samba Esq. said the defendant relied on her initial statements to police and called no witnesses.
In his judgment, Justice Johnson dismissed the defence argument, ruling that a mere denial could not outweigh the prosecution’s forensic and eyewitness evidence. He held that the case had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The court broke down the 130-year cumulative sentence as follows: 10 years for possession, and 30 years each for dealing, collecting, importing and transporting.
However, all sentences were ordered to run concurrently, meaning the defendant will serve a maximum term of 30 years.
It also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the seized drugs under the supervision of law enforcement authorities.
(The Whistler)