By Frank Kamuntu
An operation conducted by the Joint Point Control Unit has resulted in the arrest of a 37-year-old Tanzanian national and the seizure of 60 pellets of cocaine.
Shabani Siriri Abdallah was arrested on Thursday last week following the receipt of information about his intended travel with the narcotic drug to Uganda.
According to the informer, Shabani, who had been previously intercepted in South Africa, had originally intended to fly to Dar es Salaam but changed his flight to Uganda, arriving on August 24, 2023.
Shabani was subsequently detained by a JPCU officer, and during a joint investigation with the aviation police’s anti-narcotics unit, it was discovered that he had ingested drugs.
Further investigations revealed that he flew from Brazil to Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, and finally Entebbe.
During the drug egestion process, 60 cocaine pellets were recovered, and these are currently in the police’s custody. Additionally, the case has been handed over to the anti-narcotics aviation police at Entebbe for further management.
JPCU is a multi-agency unit comprised of customs officers, Ugandan wildlife officers, and police officers (from anti-narcotics and Interpol units).
The team implements the Container Control Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Customs Organization, whose ultimate goal is to curb all forms of illicit trade, including drug trafficking, abuse of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and drug precursors, wild life trafficking, counterfeiting, stolen vehicles, and money laundering, among others.
