By Francis Chipalo
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking, arresting several notorious suppliers and seizing hard drugs in a countrywide operation dubbed Operation Kufeza.
DEC Deputy Public Relations Officer Theresa Mawere said the Commission has recorded significant seizures in Muchinga, Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces.
In Muchinga Province, DEC officers in Chinsali working jointly with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) arrested Emmanuel Sichimata, 21, and Standard Sichimata, 51, in Isoka District for unlawful cultivation of cannabis weighing 138 kilogrammes.
Two others, Andrew Mfune, 26, and Mackdad Ng’ambi, 40, were also arrested from the same area. Mfune was found with 45 kilogrammes of cannabis while Ng’ambi was found in possession of two firearms, ammunition and game meat.
In Nakonde, Joseph Sikaona, 46, was arrested for trafficking 84.6 kilogrammes of cannabis, while in Mpika, DEC unearthed a cocaine trafficking syndicate at Munenshi Gold Mine leading to the arrest of Mirriam Nambela, 27.
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Nambela was found with 563 sachets of cocaine and 15 sachets of high-grade cannabis. DEC says she was operating a bar as a front business to supply cocaine to miners. K6,050 suspected to be proceeds of crime was also seized.
On the Copperbelt, Mwangala Mwaibiba, 48, of Masala Township in Ndola was arrested for trafficking 44.2 kilogrammes of cannabis concealed in fifteen 20-litre buckets.
In Lusaka, Leslie Nkonka, 31, and Charles Mwiza Msiska, 23, both of Nyumba Yanga, were arrested for trafficking 71 sachets of high-grade cannabis, 10 tablets of Benzhexol, three granules of cocaine and a sachet of crystal methamphetamine.
In a separate operation in Chongwe, Philip Lubelenge, 22, was arrested for trafficking 101 sachets of high-grade cannabis. Officers also recovered drug consumption apparatus for cocaine and crystal meth.
DEC says Lubelenge is suspected to be a major supplier of cannabis, cocaine and crystal meth in Chongwe.
Mawere said the Commission remains determined to dismantle illicit drug supply chains and urged members of the public to report suspicious activities.
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