A man suspected of dealing in hard drugs was arrested in the City of Kigali, on Monday.
Hervé Simbare, a Burundian national working with one of the banks, was arrested red-handed with 14 sachets of cocaine.
Hard drugs are described as substances that can cause severe addiction and damage to the user in the shortest period of time. They also include heroin, opium, hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone and benzodiazepines, among others.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Marie Gorret Umutesi, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said that Simbare was picked from his place of work in the city centre, where the drugs were also recovered.
“There was credible information that Simbare was working with other dealers in hard drugs in Burundi, and he was their link here in Kigali, receiving and selling them to users,” CIP Umutesi said.
“He was under the watch, so we got information that there was another delivery that was sent from Burundi, he was arrested at his office where 14 sachets of cocaine were also recovered,” she added.
Simbare, while briefing the media at Kicukiro Police station, also admitted that he was getting them from Burundi.
CIP Umutesi warned that there are “increased intelligence gathering on drug dealers as part of the efforts to break chains of supply and bring to justice dealers in severe narcotic drugs.”
Under article 263 of the new penal code, anyone convicted as “severe narcotic drugs” dealer faces “life imprisonment” and a fine of between Rwf20 million and not more Rwf30 million.