Rwanda National Police

Police in Nyabihu District arrested, on Sunday, two notorious drug traffickers with 2138 rolls of cannabis.

The suspects; a man and a woman said to have been trafficking cannabis from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were intercepted in Kagere Village, Kora Cell in Bigogwe sector at around 8am en-route from Rubavu District, Police said.

They had worn the pellets inside their clothes in an attempt to beat security.

“In the wee hours of Sunday, Police in Nyabihu received a phone call from a resident privy to one of the suspect’s (man) criminal dealings. The caller was specific that the suspect was to ‘bring new stock’ that very morning from Rubavu,” Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Innocent Gasasira, the Police spokesperson for the Western region, said.

He added: “An operation was conducted and the suspects were intercepted in Kagere Village where they were at the time found distributing cannabis to their retailers. When Police searched them, they recovered other 1122 pellets wrapped around the man’s body; the woman had worn other 1016 rolls inside her trouser. They were immediately taken into custody and handed over to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) in Jenda alongside their exhibits.”

The man is a “renowned wanted drug dealers” and the woman was one of his employees he uses to traffic and distribute cannabis amongst his retailers, majority the youth in Bigogwe Sector, according to CIP Gasasira.

He commended the resident, who called the Police and facilitated “successful operation” that led to the arrest of the duo, and called for strengthened information sharing on drug dealers to supplement the ongoing operations aimed at breaking chains of supply.

Legal provisions

Any person convicted as a “severe narcotic drugs” dealer faces a term of between 20 years and life in prison, under article 263 of the new penal code, and a fine of up to Rwf30 million.

The same article also provides an imprisonment of not less than seven years and not more than ten to anyone classified as “simple narcotics” dealer, and a financial penalty of between Rwf5 million and Rwf10 million.

However, if acts mentioned in this article are performed to a child or if they are performed at the international level, the penalty is a life imprisonment and a fine ranging between Rwf30 million and Rwf50 million