Police swoop as drug trafficking spirals out of control
Pini Bothoko | Thursday October 5, 2017 18:50
Gaborone came to a standstill on Tuesday afternoon when police and security agents stormed a number of locations around the city with helicopters and drug sniffer dogs, turning people’s houses upside down in search of hard drugs. Searchers in Phase 2 location uncovered drug caches and led to a number of arrests.
Yesterday, Botswana Police Service crime intelligence director, Nunu Lesetedi told Mmegi that nine people, two of them women, had been arrested in connection with the raids. Those arrested are believed to be involved in selling drugs such as marijuana, crack and cocaine.
He said the suspects in custody would be pressed to reveal how they had accumulated their wealth, as the majority of them are driving expensive cars. “We have a partnership with BURS to investigate their wealth and establish how they have been using money.
“We will make sure that appropriate measures are taken. We want to show members of the public that crime does not pay,” Lesetedi said.
The crime intelligence director further explained that, “This operation will last for a while as we intend to block the use of drugs, which are wreaking havoc in Botswana. We are calling for the community’s support in identifying any drug lords hiding in the community.”
Lesetedi said police have established that there are some Batswana who have partnered with citizens of neighbouring countries, especially South Africa, to smuggle drugs into Botswana.
He said investigations have revealed that cross border traders are also complicit in smuggling hard drugs through ungazetted entry points.
“We want to target the transporters of drugs into the country. These people are the ones who illegally cross with drugs into the country and pass them to local suppliers. “They are paid for doing that.
“The idea is to put more effort on those people in order to block drugs from gaining access into the country. We want to block the supply of these drugs completely,” Lesetedi said.
The crime intelligence director expressed concern over rampant cross border crime in which Batswana partner with foreigners who illegally cross into the country with drugs, guns and other illegal items to commit crimes in Botswana.
“These are the same people who have been terrorising the city with armed robberies, stealing motor vehicles, supplying drugs and other offenses,” said Lesetedi.
“The police have discovered that the use of drugs is getting out of control in the city as there are some clubs, pubs and other entertainment places are popularly known for drug use. We are aware of what is happening in those areas. We know that drugs are used and smoked freely hence the need to strengthen the fight.”
Lesetedi stated that in the past police had an excellent engagement with the Department of Immigration which had made arrests possible and this would continue in order to stamp out drug trafficking.