Emmanuel Chitsika
The continued rise in consumption of hard drugs has seen a sharp rise in commission of heinous crimes in Zimbabwe, a worrisome situation considering how the youthful generation is involved.
Speaking during a three day Inter-ministerial Taskforce on Drug and Substance Abuse training workshop for Matabeleland and Bulawayo provinces at Chevron Hotel in Masvingo from April 1-3, Detective Seargent Netty Kundizeza from CID Drugs and Narcotic section said the development is worrisome and hence the need for stakeholders to play roles in eradication of drug consumption.
“If one looks at the way criminals fight back police officers exchanging fire with them during shoot outs while knowing very well that police are trained to use guns, one would wonder where the courage comes from. They (criminals) do not care because they will be under the influence of drugs notably Crystal Meth
“If you ask armed robbers upon arrests, they will confess being high on those hard drugs. We also have heard of these ritual killings or read about such stories in newspapers and one wonders if a normal human being can perform such an act in sober sense or if that is happening in Zimbabwe. These drugs have are drivers of commission of crime in the country,” said Kundizeza.
She went on call upon all stakeholders to play a part in curbing drug abuse and or even help the consumers as the effects can reach out to non-consumers.
“It is better to avoid shunning these people (who use drugs) because it has become a societal problem where the input of everyone is required. Everyone should get involved because the effects of drug abuse are far reaching even to those who do not abuse them.
“Drugs are affecting us as a nation. Imagine one employing someone who is into drugs, he/she ceases to be productive in any way. Young people are dying at a tender age, let us help them instead of playing the blame game and make sure the welfare of youth is well catered for. Fighting drug abuse is everyone’s responsibility from parents, police and other stakeholders,” she added.
Also presenting at the workshop, another police officer identified as Acting Superintendent Chibaro highlighted how statistics show the huge involvement of youth in drug supply chains.
“From January to date, we have managed to make a total arrest of 1 349 accused persons. From that total, 439 drug suppliers were taken to court while 910 paid fines. 1078 were male while the remaining 271 were women.
“385 of the suspects were above 35 years while those below 35 were 964 forming the majority of drug suppliers arrested. 413 were suppliers while 936 were end users. 13 bases were destroyed during the same period,” said Chibaro.
The blitz also netted 22 kg of Crystal Meth, 3 kg of Cocaine, 442 kg of dagga, 761 plants of dagga, 886 Sultan cough syrup and 1 053 (100 ml) of Broncleer.
The total value of the drugs recovered was ZW$ 53 024 000.
The taskforce is made up of various ministries with Public Service Labour and Social Welfare chairing the committee and financing, Ministry of Health and Child Care focusing on harm reduction, rehabilitation and treatment of drug users while Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage focus on supply reduction, Ministry of Youth Sports Arts and Recreation focuses on drug demand reduction strategies and World Health Organization (WHO) chipping in with intervention and strategies to curb drug and substance abuse.
Recently President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched a fund meant to assist in the fight against drug and substance abuse while at the same calling for stiffer measures on drug and substance abuse criminals.