Number of female drug dealers soars

 

INVOLVEMENT of women in drug trafficking is on the rise, with 25 female dealers nabbed abroad, according to the 2015 National Drugs report.

Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, Anthony Mavunde unveiled the report here yesterday, saying of the 15,815 culprits netted by police, 1,436 were women. 

 

"The number of women dealing in drug trafficking is huge, taking into account that culturally, women have been considered as an innocent group that rarely engages in crimes," Mr Mavunde told reporters, charging that awareness campaigns were inevitable to address the menace.

He said the drug dealers were apprehended in China, Zambia and Brazil, denying knowledge of any offender being hanged.

The deputy minister, presenting the report, said bhang was the leading illicit drug with Mara, Morogoro and Iringa regions being the major growers. Moreover, he said, the government last year uncovered 5.1 kilogrammes of Mandrax in Dodoma and Ruvuma regions, the big haul that was last seen in 2010.

The country's image has been tainted internationally due to the increasing number of Tanzanians found in the dirty business, which has physically and mentally affected a great number of local youth.

The deputy minister said the government was determined to deal squarely with the increasing drug abuse and trafficking, citing the enactment of stiff penalties under the Drug Control and Enforcement Act, 2015.

He said 15 major drug trafficking cases were filed last year, with the convicts condemned to prison sentences of not less than 20 years. There are 900 youth in various sober houses, camping in 15 centres countrywide.