Author: DEUS NGOWI
AfricaPress-Tanzania: CANNABIS business seems to go on despite regular crackdown on dealers of narcotics after police seized 15 sacks of the psychoactive drug packed in a Toyota Noah vehicle, at Olbobo village, Longido District in Arusha region, on Monday.
Credible sources had it that the drugs that are worth millions of shillings were seized while being transported to an unknown destination, with suggestions that they were likely being exported to the neighbouring Kenya.
Arusha Regional Police Commander (RPC), Assistant Commissioner Salim Hamduni confirmed the reports of seizure of the marijuana at 2200hrs, Monday, and that in the other side of the East Africa bloc the drugs are currently sought-after.
The seizure comes on the back of sacking and transfer of some senior security officials of the region and district, including one from the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) who was transferred to its headquarters in Dar es Salaam.
It is said that the transporting vehicle belongs to a famous businessman who resides in Longido and is said to be involving himself in the business and others for a long time.
RPC Hamduni went to the field where the marijuana was seized to have a first-hand look.
He said the police are yet to establish the exact value of the drugs and yet to get assurance that it was to be exported to Kenya, as it was just near Namanga border.
“It is true that we have seized 15 bags of marijuana. Investigations on those issues are ongoing – I cannot say for sure that it was being exported or to be sold in Longido or at Tanzania’s frontier of Namanga,” said ACP Hamduni.
Last week, President John Magufuli confirmed and swore in as full Commissioner General of the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), Mr James Kaji after being impressed with his outstanding performance in the office.
Dr Magufuli hailed Mr Kaji for one of the latest operations that have seen a number of bags of marijuana being seized and destroyed in Arumeru District, Arusha Region.
“I have been watching him doing a good job… I saw him in one of the districts busy destroying the bags of marijuana. This is the working spirit I want,” said Dr Magufuli during the event that was live broadcast from Chamwino State House, in Dodoma.
Dr Magufuli, however, smelled underperformance among heads of security forces in Arumeru District that led to their failure to curb the illicit trade in the district, forcing the DCEA chief to intervene.
“This means there is a weakness somewhere among our officers at the district level, they were supposed to be the first one to discover this but they did nothing,” said the President, adding; “The OCD, OC-CID and District Security Officer (DSO) for Arumeru have failed to do their job, I’m ordering for their bosses here to remove them from their current positions. There is no way that they had to wait for the commissioner to leave the office in Dodoma, just to do the job that was nothing to their capacities.”
Last month, President Magufuli also made several changes in the region, by sacking the then Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Mrisho Gambo and sending a message to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Simon Sirro of how he was not happy with the then RPC, Mr Jonathan Shana.
The IGP transferred Shana to Tanzania Police School.
Several Arumeru District security officials were also relieved of their duties for failing to control cultivation of marijuana and consequent trade of the drugs. The new RPC Mr Iddy Kimanta recently toured the district.
He spoke with all district council executives and issued orders to control marijuana cultivation from village levels.
