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Tanzanian police seize, destroy 210 kg cannabis

Xinhua, January 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

Police in Tanzanian tourist city of Arusha said on Friday they have seized and destroyed 210 kilograms of marijuana in a crackdown operation carried out on the slopes of Mount Meru, the second highest in Tanzania after Mount Kilimanjaro.

Charles Mkumbo, Arusha Regional Police Commander, told a news conference that the haul was seized during a two-day joint operation that involved police and the anti-narcotics unit in Engalon and Kisimiri villages in Arumeru District.

"We will not relent in our efforts to fight the narcotics business," said Mkumbo, adding that the operation will be continuous.

He said the operation also saw seeds of marijuana being uprooted while 31 hectares of marijuana planted in the area were burnt down.

Mkumbo warned local officials against conniving with farmers in setting up such plantations in the district which has become notorious for growing marijuana.

Mid last year, police seized and destroyed 26 tonnes of marijuana in a similar crackdown which was thought to be the biggest seizure of the illicit drugs in recent years in the east African nation.

In 2010, seizures of cannabis in Tanzania amounted to 279.5 tonnes accounting for 4 percent of the global total, and were the third largest by country after Mexico with 2,313 tonnes and the United States with 1,931 tonnes.

Arusha region is one of the key marijuana producing areas in Tanzania followed by Morogoro, Iringa, Tabora, Mara, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Tanga regions.

Most of the marijuana grown in the country is illegally sold in major cities and as far as neighboring Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan. Endit