DARES SALAAM: THE Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) has intensified efforts to track down Tanzanian drug traffickers who fled to neighbouring countries, following intelligence reports that members of international narcotics syndicates are hiding in southern Africa to evade arrest.
DCEA Commissioner General Aretas Lyimo said the authority is working closely with law enforcement agencies in Eswatini, South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia to identify, arrest and extradite the suspects to face justice in Tanzania.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam, today, Mr Lyimo said the cross-border operations form part of broader efforts to dismantle international drug trafficking networks that continue to use Tanzania as a transit route for illicit narcotics.
“We have established operational cooperation with the relevant authorities in these countries after receiving intelligence that some Tanzanian drug traffickers have fled there. Joint operations will continue to ensure they are arrested and brought before the courts,” he said.
The announcement came as DCEA unveiled the results of nationwide anti-drug operations conducted between May and June this year, during which authorities seized 22.6 tonnes of narcotic drugs, 30.5 litres and 19.94 kilogrammes of narcotic-based medicinal products, destroyed 228.5 acres of cannabis farms and arrested 188 suspects.
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The operations also led to the destruction of 3.3 tonnes of cannabis and khat (miraa), while six vehicles, two tricycles (bajaji) and 33 motorcycles used in drug trafficking were confiscated.
Among the major seizures was 19.94 kilogrammes of products labelled as ‘AFA CELL (Moringa Extract)’ intercepted at the export cargo terminal of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.
Laboratory analysis established that the products contained ‘Prazepam’, a controlled benzodiazepine medicine with narcotic properties. The consignment had been imported from Malaysia and was being prepared for shipment to Barbados in the Caribbean.
Three suspects—Agustino Ismaely (30), Zamia Upunda (23) and Habiba Mziga (54)—were arrested in connection with the case.
Mr Lyimo warned that although Prazepam is prescribed to treat anxiety, stress and insomnia, misuse without medical supervision can lead to addiction, damage to the nervous and respiratory systems, unconsciousness and even death.
In another operation in Kinondoni’s Manyanya area, officers intercepted 34.87 kilogrammes of khat concealed beneath crates of tomatoes aboard a Fuso truck that had travelled from Tarakea in Kilimanjaro Region after entering Tanzania from Kenya.
Three suspects, including the truck driver, conductor and a bajaji operator involved in distributing the consignment, were arrested, while another suspect believed to be in Nairobi remains at large.
Joint inspections conducted by DCEA, the Government Chemist Laboratory Authority (GCLA), the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and the Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) also uncovered 122 cans of energy drinks branded ‘TRIP’ containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical found in cannabis, at a supermarket in Dar es Salaam.
Two suspects were arrested over the products, which totalled 30.5 litres.
Elsewhere, DCEA seized 106.04 kilogrammes of khat in Arusha, 240 kilogrammes in Same District, Kilimanjaro Region, 162.48 grammes of heroin in Kigamboni and 972.05 grammes of khat from a Kenyan national at the Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar ferry terminal.
Operations in other regions recovered 19.5 tonnes of cannabis, 2.6 tonnes of khat, 40 kilogrammes of skunk and 11.63 grammes of heroin.
Mr Lyimo said the authority also destroyed cannabis farms covering 228.5 acres in Dodoma, Lindi, Geita and Mwanza regions as part of efforts to eliminate the production of illicit drugs at source.