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Harare Bureau
AT least 636 people have been arrested countrywide under the ongoing crackdown against drug suppliers and peddlers in which police have intensified the fight.

The nationwide crackdown taking place under a special operation has seen several people, including a policeman being arrested.

Dubbed “No to dangerous drugs and illicit substances: See something, say something”, the operation comes after Government instructed police to redouble their efforts against drug lords supplying unwanted substances to youths.

Police were yesterday still consolidating information about the quantities of the drugs that they had recovered so far countrywide and will release the details anytime soon.

In an interview, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said on Monday, they arrested a total of 277 people countrywide bringing the number to 636 since last week.

“On February 6, 2023, police arrested 277 people countrywide on operation, ‘No to dangerous drugs and illicit substances’, bringing cumulative arrests to 636. We want the public to cooperate with the police so that we can get as much information as possible on any one dealing or supplying drugs.

“The police will make sure that the law takes its course. We would want to assure the public that no one is above the law especially in dealing or supplying drugs,” he said.

Our Harare Bureau visited some of the police stations in Harare where several plants of mbanje and bottles of cough syrups such as Broncleer, Benylin with codeine and Adco-Salterpyn syrup were recovered from various drug dealers who have since been arrested and are appearing in court.

Most of the suspects were arrested in Mufakose and Warren Park suburbs. The mbanje plants were recovered at a house in a garden in Mufakose.

Police also conducted door to door searches in Mufakose.
They also raided some house owners in Harare who were operating shebeens as they believed that some of them were also distributing and selling drugs.

Several beers which include opaque and other illicit brews were confiscated at the shebeens.

Drugs

The policeman was arrested with two others while allegedly working with a Sunningdale drug dealer distributing drugs from a vehicle on Saturday night.

Kunyongana Masimba who is the police officer from Sunningdale Police Station and his co-accused Matthew Kuimba and Assam Manyamba appeared before Harare Magistrate Mr Dennis Mangosi and they were released on $20 000 bail each and remanded to April 5.

The Government said the rounding up of drug kingpins would help save young people many of whom were struggling with drugs.

Police said they would now man roadblocks and stop and search motorists and even passengers on vehicles.