INDIA: Duped by Nigeria lover, Zim woman faces 22 years ‘rigorous imprisonment’

INDIA: Duped by Nigeria lover, Zim woman faces 22 years ‘rigorous imprisonment’

By Agencies


A ZIMBABWEAN woman was recently sentenced to 22 years ‘rigorous imprisonment’ by an Indian judge after being found with nearly 3 kilogrammes of heroin at Kochi airport in southwest Kerala region.

Sharon Chigwaza (33), said she was just a carrier who agreed to bring in the drugs to raise money for her treatment in Delhi.

According to her statement to investigators, Chigwaza had been living as a refugee in South Africa with her parents and two sisters. However, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials said her refugee certificate was fake.

Court heard that on June 19, 2021, she landed at Kochi airport from Johannesburg via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.

As she prepared to board an onward IndiGo flight to Delhi, airport security grew suspicious and detained her.

They found 2,910 gm of heroin in a secret pocket in her trolley bag. She was arrested, and the case was handed over to NCB.

Chigwaza told the officials that she had suffered multiple miscarriages and wanted money for treatment in Delhi.

She said her Nigerian friend Ifeanyi offered her $2,000 if she delivered the contraband at a Delhi lodge.

He reportedly told her that his brother would pick up the package and give her the money. She took up the offer. It was her first trip to India.

The court, however, did not go into the reasons for the crime, said Special Public Prosecutor for the NCB Adv Sunil J.

Five grams of heroin is a small quantity, and 250 gm is a commercial quantity.

“Chigwaza was caught with nearly 12 times the commercial quantity,” said Adv Sunil.

The minimum punishment for carrying and smuggling commercial quantities of heroin is 10 years each, and the maximum punishment is 20 years each.

The court factored in her poor background and the fact that she was a woman and sentenced her to 11 years for each offence, he said.

“The sentences will run concurrently, so she will serve only 11 years in prison,” he said.

He added that the court’s sentencing clearly communicated that “irrespective of nationality or circumstances, peddling drugs is a crime against the nation and will be punished.”

The court also said that the three years and seven months she spent in prison before her conviction would be deducted from her sentence.

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