Dagga, ‘Cat’ grip youth as drug trade spreads
Pini Bothoko | Monday September 29, 2025 06:00
In their continued efforts to curb drug abuse in Botswana, police say they are alarmed by the volume of drugs, especially dagga and Cat, being smuggled into the country. Arrests in recent years point to a worrying trend: large consignments of drugs entering Botswana mainly through ungazetted points of entry, with only a few cases intercepted at formal border posts.
Tshesebe Police Station Commander, Superintendent, Mothusi Phadi said drug use has become deeply well-established in local communities, leaving a devastating trail of broken families and ruined lives.
“Drugs have commenced in our communities, and the situation is very bad. They have destroyed people’s lives, torn families apart, and fueled gender-based violence. The effects are clear to see. People appear excessively drunk, but it is not alcohol. They are often angry, reckless, and quick to engage in fights that sometimes end in deaths,” Phadi said.
Phadi, whose policing area covers villages along the Botswana-Zimbabwe border, said dagga smuggling from Zimbabwe is the most common problem they encounter.
“In 2023, we recorded four cases where dagga was intercepted at the border and six more cases where people were arrested in possession of dagga within border villages through police patrols. In 2024, there were two interceptions at the border and four cases of possession within the villages. This year, we have so far recorded one case involving a Zimbabwean man suspected to be a drug mule, who was arrested with dagga weighing about 3kg,” he said.
Phadi further revealed that Batswana involved in the drug trade have adopted cunning methods to conceal their stock. He said they package dagga in 20-litre buckets, dig holes in their yards, and hide it underground, something which sometimes makes it difficult for the police to detect unless they have received a tip-off.
Additionally, he pleaded with members of the community to refrain from trading with dagga, stating that it has broken families, fuels crime, as people no longer respect the sanctity of human life, killing whenever it pleases them.
“It seems like the society is angry, people fight and kill each other over small issues that could have been solved verbally. This clearly shows that most people’s anger is fueled by drug use, hence pleading with young people who are mostly perpetrators and victims of these fights to refrain from consuming drugs,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Dibete Police Station Commander, Superintendent Keoagile Tau, who described dagga and Cat’s use in Botswana as “too much” and particularly concerning among young people.
“Most of the time, we intercept large consignments from people traveling northwards from the southern part of the country. Just this week, we intercepted dagga weighing 1kg, and a week earlier, we intercepted another 3kg, all headed towards the north,” Tau said.
According to him, traffickers often smuggle dagga into Botswana through ungazetted entry points along the South African border.
“The people we mostly arrest are young men aged between 19 and 30 and would disclose that they were going to make a business out of its sale as unemployment remains high amongst the youth,” he said.
Tau expressed worry about the increasing consumption of drugs among school-going children. “The most common drugs intercepted here are dagga and methcathinone. These two remain a major concern, and sadly, they have even reached schools where they are consumed by learners,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, Martin’s Drift Acting Police Station Commander, Assistant Superintendent Uyapo Koketso, whose jurisdiction covers the busy Botswana-South Africa border, said that while they previously recorded frequent drug interceptions, the trend has suddenly changed.
“Back in 2023 and 2024, we intercepted a lot of dagga and methcathinone, almost every week at the border. This year, however, we haven’t intercepted anything, and that worries us. Clearly, drug dealers may have changed their routes or found more sophisticated ways to conceal their consignments,” Koketso said.
He explained that drugs were mostly smuggled in trucks, private cars, and sometimes hidden in personal luggage. Others were smuggled through ungazetted points of entry, with some offenders later caught within nearby villages.
Police across the country remain concerned that Botswana is increasingly becoming both a target market and a transit route for illicit drugs. The challenge, they say, is compounded by traffickers who adapt quickly, changing routes and smuggling methods whenever law enforcement closes in.
For now, police say they will continue to intensify patrols, border checks, and community awareness campaigns, but warn that the fight against drugs requires collective effort.
“Parents, schools, community leaders, and individuals all need to take part. If we do not act now, we risk losing an entire generation to drugs,” Koketso said.
Quizzed about the state of drug use in Botswana, the Botswana Police Service’s (BPS) Public Relations Officer (PRO), Senior Superintendent Selinah Omphile, echoed police station commanders’ sentiments that dagga is the most common illicit drug in the country, followed by Cat and cocaine. She further disclosed that the number of suppliers is higher than that of consumers aged 10 to over 60 both with high numbers for ages between 20 and 39.
“In terms of gender, males are more linked to drug cases than females. In 2024, we recorded a total of 1,336 cases as compared to 1,789 in 2023. In terms of the value of confiscated drugs, we have observed a decrease from P330 218.99 in 2023 to P263 998.21 in 2024,” she said.
Omphile revealed that drugs are usually intercepted through police operations such as patrols, stop, question, and search, and collaborative efforts with members of the public at various locations such as homes, at points of entry, and airports.