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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Are Drugs being used to fund political interests in Seychelles?


The latest US State Department report on international narcotics trafficking links drug trafficking in Kenya with political campaigning.

Specifically the report says:

"Kenya is a significant transit country for a variety of illicit drugs, including Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine, with an increasing domestic user population … Stemming this flow of illicit drugs is an enormous challenge. Drug trafficking organizations take advantage of corruption within the Kenyan government and business community. Proceeds from drug trafficking are used to further fuel the corruption of Kenyan institutions, adversely impacting the lives of Kenyan citizens far removed from the drug trade. Drug barons use proceeds to contribute to political campaigns and to buy influence with government officials, law enforcement officers, politicians, and the media." [Extract]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INSCR March 2015)

This is a shocking revelation, particularly the nexus between politics and drug barons which undermines the very fabric of society and threatens democracy. The strongly worded US Report makes no reference to the Republic of Seychelles, presumably because the scale of trafficking for transit does not merit attention, but given the close trafficking links between Kenya and Seychelles the question is a valid one.

Are there signs emerging that drug trafficking is connecting to Seychelles political activity?

Last month the Seychelles police intercepted an importation of 35 kilograms of high-purity heroin being trafficked into Seychelles. This attempt to traffic heroin is a matter of singular significance for Seychelles in terms of scale and timing.

The scale is simply unprecedented and the authorities are at something of a loss to understand and explain its true significance. Reliable external sources suggest that heroin in normally smuggled into Seychelles in packages of one or two kilograms at most. The scale of the thirty-five kilograms intercepted is completely unprecedented in Seychelles experience and is estimated to represent between six and twelve months supply for the entire consumption of heroin for the small island state. In financial terms, it represents a street value of five to six million US dollars.

Who could fund importing such an amount of heroin in a single consignment?

Why was it worth risking a relatively huge investment in a single consignment?

The answers may lie in political developments in Seychelles.

It is significant that the timing of the importation of the heroin coincides with the electoral cycle and that the six to twelve months worth of supply would pretty much guarantee a money flow and narcotic supply throughout the entire forthcoming political campaign. There must be elections in Seychelles no later than the end of the first quarter of 2016.

The timing of this attempt to smuggle a huge supply may be even more significant because it coincides with a split in the ruling political party and the emergence of a splinter group ultimately believed to be organised by the former President’s wife, Sarah Zarqani Rene. She is a very close friend and colleague of the leader of the new party, Patrick Pillay, who referred to her as still being very close when he launched the party. Mrs Rene and her daughter Ella have been actively campaigning for the new party in the run up to its official launch.

Source: Michael Ace Sabadin

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

SNP playing dirty?
Innuendo is not facts.
Get serious folks.
Sesel Pou Seselwa!

Christopher Gill

Anonymous said...

Drug trafficking is one of zhe most lucrative business operates by thuggish government follows by human and arms traafficking and ozher vices.
Kenyan President id known to be a drug addict,but also a closer friend of Faure,the later visited him a few years ago,to apperent put a well~oiled drug export machinary in place in order toxicate seychellois and financially suck them dry.
Knowing plbaddiction to illicit businesses,pl officials surely collaborate withvdrug things,as the equally directly participate in zhem,wizh leader role at some level of organisation,or maintaining a coordination relationship with drug barons and have their approval
Pl officials also directly participate in trafficking ,by entering the circuit and selling drugs confiscated by the authority(,NDEA).
These forms ofvstate officials! directly participate in trafficking constitute the most serious and dangerous corruption cases,because the employees involved maintain state institutions and zhe trafficking control.pl is not that StatecTerrorism?

Pillay s party,a cameleon party,changing colour to confuse seychellois and be a kind of rescue party of pl to ensure thrccontinuity of the stazus quo.?dynasty Rene as main suporters and financiers,just trying to keep the,dictatorship going tobprotrct themsrlves,for the fact is family Rene is zhe main beneficiary of zhe 4 decades of RENEISM...they surely fear changecwhich would make them zhe first culprits in their crimes agsinst seychellois people.

Anonymous said...

SNP Ghost Writer you say a lot in one comment. Here is what you do not say-

1. SNP people are involved in drug trafficking aswell.
2. The opportunity for Pillay to form a party, muster support over night, is simply because Kalawan has been dividing the opposition on his watch. People are tired.
3. There is a good argument in the comment that drugs are being used for political purpose. I have always believed this. But you cannot rightfully with credibility, resort to yellow Journalism to spin a yarn in accusations without substance. Then you make matters worse by naming names,without facts, just rumors.
This is a solid case of Defamation.
If the facts are on your side, why do you spin, and lie?
Pathetic.
Christopher Gill

Anonymous said...

Christ this article is from here http://www.fifth-estate-sezel.org/
I don't believe SNP has anything to do with it. I see Pauline Ferrari written all over this. It is meant to discredit Sara and place Rene in a difficult situation. Michel is not sure of Rene's loyalty so he is trying everything to bring Rene back. Remember he threatened Rene and made him to renounce Pat openly. Pauline Ferrari like Mancham is afraid of losing the privileges bestowed on them by Michel. They are both doing their dirty work whatever way they can to keep the money flowing in their bank account. Open your eyes Christ

Anonymous said...

We could argue,agree and disagree,but the fact,is there is no proof provided by those making such allegation.What is clear though,is that Ram is a desperate man like pl.As willing stooge he has no choice than hanging like a barnacle on pls sinking ship.He is simply what pl made him.Ram knows too well,that as pl,he has lost all legitimacy,his stoogery has long detrayed.Ram holds to the saying“
Disperate times call for disperate measures,then i am free to act as desperately as i wish“,Ram,unproven allegation is disguising,and amount to sign of vulnerability,he probably feels the wind of change steady blowing on seychelles,his sandcastle is threaten by a peoples tsunami,soon to come.

Anonymous said...

Rene,,Mancham, now Kalawan all stand to lose with Pat Pillay in play.
So I do not think it is a Pauline Ferrari issue alone. Ace Sabbadin posted it.
So there is complicity on the matter.
What I am appealing for is serious journalism to expose drugs in politics. Yellow Journalism will only discredit the effort.
Thank you.
Christopher Gill

Anonymous said...

The youths on the streets are already chanting Pillays name,it sign of the end for SNPPL.As brother Zonm Lib,our millionaire Priest will soon find real place alongside pl in the trashbin of history.

Anonymous said...

Drugs in politics is a serious issue thus needs seriuos approach.It known that throw the decades,pl has diversified and gone global in Transnational organized crimes from arms trafficking to human trafficking(importing khalifas illlegal workers in containers).Yes,given the high level of social control imposed on us by pl police state,any major drug trafficking operation would hypothetically need some degree of official collaboration.Economic difficulties,may make officials suscrptible to high level corruption,endemic under pl.Havind said that,allegation alone is in anyway a serious mean to dealing with such as drugs and politics..

Anonymous said...

A writing made up of half truths and innuendo. A pen is a dangerous thing when placed in the wrong hands.
All these years of following Mr. Gill never has he written a piece of garbage like this. He has exposed the government of PL and done it with class.

Anonymous said...

We learned about honesty and integrity~~~that the truth matters......that u donot take short cuts or play by ur own set of rules,and succes can not count unless u can earn it fair and square.Honesty is the first capter in the book of wisdom.Believe me,if we see today pl breaking apart,people no longer afraid to speak out zhe truth tobpower,it is frankly because Gill paves zhe way for that.He has led by examples,and his examples have become a precursor for many.He has been the guy that have made thing moved in this country by his honesty and tenacity.Without Gill showing zhe way,i am sure zoday Pillay and group would have not been challeging pl today.I give him credit fkr that,and bozh seychelllois and persons like Ram etc..know that which explaon why likes of Ram has decided to dislikes him,he zhreaten zhe system. And collaboration.How many zimes we have heard from rams likes asking him to go to Guan,for he is a hardrock to break,zhey feel zhreaten by his honesty and integrity and would have like get rid of him.

Anonymous said...

Imagine that: "tell a Seychellois to go back to Guam". Christopher never told Ram to go back to Madagascar. Ram is a disgrace. Thank God for Christopher Gill

Anonymous said...

Seychelles belongs to seychellois,no one has a right to tell a seychellois to go elsewhere.We should be concerned by those illegal and fake seychellois to the likes of Ramadoss ,who is not an illegal but want to be the first foreigner to rule seychellois in their Homeland.

Anonymous said...

Gill has been and still the Motor of Change in this Country,while others where trying the changes with pl in return for bribes,he was from the very beginning concern by the suffering of seychellois while RAm and the rest what sleeping with pl.

Anonymous said...

correction ,trying their chances

Anonymous said...

Christopher Gill should run for Presidency And this will usher real change for Seychelles/ with no risk with a bunch of ex SPPF principal,secretaries and ministers who stole their share and then decided they Did not steal enough. Imagine Simone de Commarmond as Minosters of tourism again. god save us. Herminie in charge of social affairs a and employment? More corruption.ramadoss minister of finance/ casinos in each district.

Anonymous said...

Thank you all for your comments. Our blogs collectively have exceeded 4 million views over the years.
Some have been abandoned by administrators when they moved on to other things.
One blog was literally stolen, when the Administrator thought he had sufficient intelligence and education to run it himself. It guttered out of course.
Another Administrator thought because he ran a blog from London, he could dictate to me policies of hate.
This is all part of the terrain. Nothing new.
What is important is we have kept our word, held GOS accountable, made it fashionable, done it in a respectful manner, held up Truth and wrote about reality.
The blog names have changed, the message has always been the same:

Sesel Pou Seselwa!

Today, everyone is making the call!

Christopher Gill

Anonymous said...

Yes Gill!

Anonymous said...

Tax exempleDDependencyoonccheapeexpatsImporting fish and cheap vegetable from abriad,allowvthese establishment to offer extremely low price for their services,thus distorting pricing in the tourism industry. It isvtime foreigners pay all their taxes,andvpl regulate and stop.monopoly proliferating in this country.