Dagga Smuggling Overwhelm Ramatlabama Police
Pini Bothoko | Monday February 17, 2020 15:28
Station commander, superintendent Zibani Mbisana explained they are unable to keep up with the increased drugs smuggled from the neighbouring country.
Mbisana said the use of marijuana is a concern in Botswana as more arrests of peddlers with large quantities of the drug are a daily occurrence.
He revealed that marijuana and cocaine, which are said to be from South Africa and Mozambique, have found their way into the country. Mbisana said in 2019 they recorded 32 cases while this year from January to date they have already recorded 10. “We have recorded nine cases in January and one in February. Last week we arrested a middle-aged man from Hebron village with a 10kg bag of dagga in his car at Phehetswana village,” Mbisana said.
“Majority of the mules were caught smuggling drugs into the country at Ramatlabama border with some through ungazetted entries.”
The station chief said the quantity of the dagga suggests the suspect might be a dealer. He said they have charged the suspect who will soon appear before court.
Mbisana added that drug mules have been giving them a headache since the beginning of the year as they are recording one to two cases every week.
He said they have been arresting Batswana with large quantities of drugs something which shows that most of the citizens have turned drugs into a business.
Mbisana revealed to have observed that a number of Batswana survive from the sale of drugs something that appears to be difficult to desist from.
“This shows that we still have a long way to go. We continue to arrest people with drugs despite the raids that the police continue to hold countrywide. However, we will continue working hard to lessen trading of illicit drugs in the country,” he said.
A sizeable number of cases according to police involve those who directly sell or supply drugs in the country. He said the figures show that drug syndicates continue to invade the country.
The police have established that some locals have connections with South Africans or people from the other side of the border who transport drugs to the borderline where they meet to smuggle drugs into the country.
“This shows that drug markets still exist, and demand and supply is still high. Despite our efforts to reduce drug consumption in Botswana, we have realised that the country continues to be the target of international drug barons,” Mbisana said.