Man Sentenced to 28 years for trafficking 268kg of Heroin

DAR ES SALAAM:  THE High Court of Economic Crimes, Division of Corruption Offenses, has sentenced Mr Isso Lupembe to 28 years in prison after he was found guilty of participating in the trafficking of 268.50 kilogrammes of heroin.
Mr Lupembe was the first of three defendants facing charges in this economic sabotage case.

Reading the judgment recently, Judge Otaru Joachimu stated that the court had taken into account the five years and nine months that Lupembe had already spent in detention since his arrest.
As a result, the court directed that he serve the remaining sentence of 22 years and three months to complete his punishment.

In a separate development, the court acquitted Alistair Mbele of all charges after the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against him beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr Mbele had been charged alongside his co-defendants in the economic sabotage case number ECO 36/2020.

The case involved three suspects: David Chukwu, a Nigerian national, Mr Lupembe, a Tanzanian national, and Alistair Mbele, also from Tanzania.

As for Mr Chukwu, the Nigerian national, his case is still ongoing at the court after he denied the charges against him.

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The prosecution in this case was represented by government lawyers Elizabeth Muhangwa and Phoibe Magili.

According to the charge sheet, the accused were arrested on April 15, 2020, in Mbezi area, Kibanda cha Mkaa, by officers from the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), for allegedly trafficking 268.50 kilograms of heroin.

The court adjourned the case until February 23, 2026, when it will resume to continue with legal proceedings against the remaining defendant.