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.
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