Zambia: Genital cocaine trafficker jailed

A woman who concealed over 300 grammes of cocaine in her private parts with intent of offloading it on the country's illicit drug market has been jailed. The Lusaka Magistrates Court slapped a five-year jail term on Alice Mulonda Sandi on Thursday.

She was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) at the Lusaka International Airport on her arrival from Pakistan last week.

Sandi was charged with trafficking and importing narcotic drugs, contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Act Cap 96 of the Laws of Zambia.

Magistrate Lameck Ng'ambi noted although Sandi was a first offender, the offence she committed and the drugs she carried were serious and dangerous.

Ng’ambi reminded Sandi that she should have thought about her three children before engaging in the illicit activity, although he noted that the accused pleaded guilty because she was caught trafficking cocaine.

Ruled Ng’ambi, "Recently, there has been an increase in the spate of cases where women have been involved in these cases. I hope the sentence I am going to pass will deter other would-be offenders. I therefore sentence you to five years simple imprisonment on count one and five years simple imprisonment on count two. Both sentences will run concurrently".

In recent past, a number of Zambia women have either been arrested or serving jail terms in foreign countries for narcotic trafficking.

Zambia is among the few countries in Africa where drug usage is illegal but the number of its female citizens being arrested abroad has continued to increase.