Namcor director faces drug dealing – not possession – charge
A National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) board member - who was arrested yesterday - could face a drug-dealing charge instead of the lighter charge of possession because of the size of the bust, police drug unit sources told Namibian Sun.
Police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi confirmed that an intelligence operation led to the high-level arrest yesterday, after 935 grams of cannabis, 60 units of crack cocaine and 10 grams of cocaine powder were allegedly found in the director’s vehicle. The official's name cannot be revealed until their first court appearance.
“Normally when we find someone with that [amount] of drugs, we charge you with drug-dealing instead of possession,” a drug unit member remarked.
Namibian Sun understands that Namcor directors held a board meeting yesterday morning, after which they walked over to the nearby ministry of mines and energy for a presentation to minister Tom Alweendo.
The directors then walked back to the Namcor headquarters to continue their board meeting. It was at that juncture that police officers, who were allegedly tipped off, arrived at the scene and asked the director to open their car for a search.
“Board members started disappearing one by one and the meeting could no longer take place,” a source said, adding that “heads were [going] to roll had the meeting proceeded”.
Infighting
The timing of the drug bust comes hot on the heels of alleged infighting at the national oil company – pitting senior board members against executives.
Namcor’s stocks rose with the discovery of huge oil reserves in Namibia, with allegations now rife that there is an ensuing battle for the soul of the company ahead of actual oil production.
On Sunday, activist Job Amupanda revealed that an ‘emergency’ board meeting was scheduled to take place at Namcor regarding recent leaks of confidential documents and agreements between the company and its partners in the recently-discovered oil deposits in Namibia.
Amupanda claimed the meeting was called to initiate an investigation into who is responsible for leaking information to the former Windhoek mayor.
One of the leaked documents is a memorandum of cooperation with QatarEnergy about the upstream oil and gas sector.
Police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi confirmed that an intelligence operation led to the high-level arrest yesterday, after 935 grams of cannabis, 60 units of crack cocaine and 10 grams of cocaine powder were allegedly found in the director’s vehicle. The official's name cannot be revealed until their first court appearance.
“Normally when we find someone with that [amount] of drugs, we charge you with drug-dealing instead of possession,” a drug unit member remarked.
Namibian Sun understands that Namcor directors held a board meeting yesterday morning, after which they walked over to the nearby ministry of mines and energy for a presentation to minister Tom Alweendo.
The directors then walked back to the Namcor headquarters to continue their board meeting. It was at that juncture that police officers, who were allegedly tipped off, arrived at the scene and asked the director to open their car for a search.
“Board members started disappearing one by one and the meeting could no longer take place,” a source said, adding that “heads were [going] to roll had the meeting proceeded”.
Infighting
The timing of the drug bust comes hot on the heels of alleged infighting at the national oil company – pitting senior board members against executives.
Namcor’s stocks rose with the discovery of huge oil reserves in Namibia, with allegations now rife that there is an ensuing battle for the soul of the company ahead of actual oil production.
On Sunday, activist Job Amupanda revealed that an ‘emergency’ board meeting was scheduled to take place at Namcor regarding recent leaks of confidential documents and agreements between the company and its partners in the recently-discovered oil deposits in Namibia.
Amupanda claimed the meeting was called to initiate an investigation into who is responsible for leaking information to the former Windhoek mayor.
One of the leaked documents is a memorandum of cooperation with QatarEnergy about the upstream oil and gas sector.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article