The Seychelles Supreme Court has sentenced two Iranians and one Pakistani man to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking. They were arrested along with five others by the Seychelles Coast Guard on December 28 last year aboard the vessel Abdullahi, northeast of Denis Island, with a total of 187.92 kilograms of illegal drugs, including hashish, heroin, cannabis, and methamphetamine, along with GPS and communication equipment.
Mohammad Chiray, the 42-year-old captain of the vessel, his compatriot Abdul Wahid Raesee, and 25-year-old Pakistani Sinkander Baloch, all pleaded guilty to eight charges in January and were convicted last month for conspiring to import controlled substances. Chief Justice Rony Govinden emphasized their collective intent and organization in committing the crime, noting its potential societal impact if not intercepted.
Govinden imposed concurrent 25-year sentences on all three convicts for eight counts, without eligibility for sentence reduction. In a similar case last year, eight Iranians sentenced for drug importation were repatriated to Iran in August 2023, as confirmed by Commissioner of Prisons Raymond St. Ange in an interview with Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation on September 4, 2023.
