Dar es Salaam: At least 69 suspects were arrested in Tanzania between June and September on charges of trafficking cannabis, the anti-narcotics authorities said on Sunday.
Aretas Lyimo, the commissioner general for the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), said in Manyara Region that the suspects were arrested in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Iringa, Mara, Dar es Salaam and Coast regions during a special crackdown.
Lyimo said after the DCEA managed to control the trafficking of drugs such as heroin and cocaine, drug traffickers are now turning to the trafficking of cannabis, which is being illegally cultivated in various parts of the East African nation.
Without mentioning the amount of cannabis the suspects were found with, Lyimo said most of the cannabis is cultivated in river basins.
He said the DCEA will cooperate with the Ministry of Water and other relevant authorities to ensure that cannabis cultivation in river basins will be controlled once and for all.
