An aged Swedish man who was arrested at an airport in Zimbabwe with three kilogrammes of heroin certain for Thailand earlier this month appeared in courtroom yesterday.
On April 8, detectives from Zimbabwe’s CID Drugs and Narcotics Harare received info that seventy one yr previous Hans Arne Ingemar Pettersson was in possession of medicine that he meant to smuggle to Thailand on a Qatar Airways flight.
Detectives headed to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare where they found Pettersson within the departures hall. They identified him by his garments and passport. Pettersson was pushing a trolley carrying two baggage, a pink one and a black one.
Officials searched the bags to search out brown powder – suspected to be dangerous medication – inside a plastic bag stashed in a secret compartment contained in the pink bag. Unheard of was tested and found to include three kilogrammes of heroin with a avenue value of US$3.four million (117 million baht) in Zimbabwe.
Pettersson was arrested and detained under costs of illegal dealing in harmful drugs. He was remanded in custody and asked to request bail from the High Court, which was rejected.
Yesterday, the drug mule appeared before regional Justice of the Peace Stanford Mambanje, who postponed his trial to May 15.
The trial was delayed after Pettersson advised the courtroom that he can’t communicate or perceive English and needed an interpreter based on his rights.
In January, Thai authorities seized 30 kilogrammes of heroin hidden in puppy pads, believed to be headed to Hong Kong. Police arrested a Hong Konger and a Thai nationwide.
The Hong Konger told police there have been more drugs at a second property, where police discovered an additional 14 kilogrammes of heroin and 21 grammes of “Ice,” or methamphetamine. The medication had a collective value of 30 million baht..