By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter D.S
The High Court has handed a 130-year prison sentence to a South African woman convicted of trafficking cocaine through Freetown International Airport, in one of the heaviest drug penalties issued this year.
Justice Andrew S.C. Johnson delivered the sentence against 37-year-old Asandra Denise on five counts related to the unlawful possession, transport, and importation of prohibited drugs.
Court records show Denise was arrested at Lungi Airport in the North-West Region after security officers discovered 365 pellets of cocaine, weighing roughly 5.4 kilograms, in her possession. She held no legal authorization for the substance.
Denise entered a not guilty plea on all charges.
During trial, the prosecution presented three witnesses. Among them was forensic toxicologist Joseph Lahai, who told the court that 10.5 grams of samples taken from the seized exhibits tested positive for cocaine hydrochloride following laboratory analysis.
Defense counsel Ibrahim Samba informed the court that, after consulting with his client and with no witnesses to call, the accused would rest on her earlier police statement.
Closing for the state, I.A. Kamara applied to tender the ex-officio information signed by the Attorney General, citing Section 153(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2024.
Justice Johnson sentenced Denise to consecutive terms: 10 years for unlawful possession, 30 years each for dealing in, collecting, importing, and transporting prohibited drugs, totaling 130 years.
The court did not indicate whether the terms would run concurrently or consecutively, but read the cumulative total into the record.
