'Student' had drugs in her body, court hears

A police inspector yesterday gave an overview of investigations that led to the arrest of a Somali woman, who was allegedly carrying 41 heroin-filled capsules inside her body, at the airport last week.

Inspector Norbert Ciappara told Magistrate Lawrence Quintano how Rahma Abdirahman Ibrahim was arrested at the airport after the police were tipped off that a woman who fitted her description was importing drugs from Istanbul into Malta.

Although Ibrahim initially denied carrying drugs, an X-ray revealed she had ingested capsules and she eventually admitted importing drugs after she had been asked to by a Turkish person.

Inspector Ciappara, prosecuting, testified in the compilation of evidence against Ibrahim, 28, holder of a Turkish passport, who is pleading not guilty to conspiring to deal in heroin between October and November this year, importing the drug and the possession of the drug in circumstances denoting it was not for her personal use on November 17.

Inspector Ciappara said that when questioned at the airport Ibrahim denied the possession of any drugs and told police she had come to Malta to learn English.

She was taken to hospital and an X-ray was taken. When she was confronted with the X-ray images she told the police she had ingested 38 capsules and had another three capsules inserted in her private parts.

She also said she had been asked to import the drugs by a Turkish person.

In a strikingly similar court case, that is being heard before Magistrate Saviour Demicoli, 32-year-old Winnie Wanjiku Kanmaz, born in Kenya but holder of a Turkish passport, is pleading not guilty to ingesting and importing 65 capsules containing heroin from Istanbul into Malta on November 10.