The head of the board of directors at Namibia’s national oil company has appeared in court to face charges of dealing drugs.

Jennifer Comalie was arrested at the company’s offices on Monday when intelligence officers acting on a tipoff allegedly found a consignment of drugs in her official vehicle.

On Tuesday she appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate Court on charges of dealing in “dangerous dependence-producing substances.”

A spokesperson for the Namibian police in the Khomas region, Silas Shipandeni, confirmed the arrest to VOA.

“The contraband [was] discovered in her vehicle of which, amongst, others there was a discovery of 995 grams of cannabis of which one can call ‘skunk, 10 grams of cocaine powder and 90 units of crack cocaine,” Shipandeni said. He estimated that the total street value was 50,000 Namibian dollars.

A group of about 50 supporters gathered at the magistrate court on Tuesday to offer support to Comalie, whom many believe was set up as a result of a power struggle between her and the managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia.

NAMCOR, in partnership with Dutch oil giant Shell and Qatar Energy, recently announced a major oil discovery off the coast of Namibia.

NAMCOR owns a 10 percent stake in the joint venture, which may provide huge revenues for Namibia if drilling and production proceed.

A Namibian corporate leader and a friend to the accused, Twapewa Kadhikwa, was among those showing support for Comalie in court.