Rwanda National Police

Police in Rusizi District have arrested two men who were trafficking 100kg of cannabis stashed in sacks of cassava flour and using Toyota Corolla and a surveillance motorcycle to transport the drugs to Nyamagabe District.  

The suspects who are currently held at Gasaka police station are Dominique Savio Munyaneza the owner of the Toyota Corolla with RAB 422 F that carried the sacks of cassava flour with cannabis stashed inside, and Evariste Ntawusigimana who was riding ahead on surveillance motorcycle with plate number RCA 804 M.

According to Southern Region Police Spokesperson, Inspector of Police (IP) Emmanuel Kayigi, Police learnt of the trafficking through a tip off from residents who had see the duo packing the drugs.

“We had information that the duo was dealing in trafficking drugs using different tricks; when got the information from residents, we mounted checkpoints and searched every vehicle thoroughly and indeed we found 100kg of cannabis stashed in cassava flour,” said IP Kayigi.

This is not the first time police has arrested drug traffickers using different trick, in January this year, Police in Rubavu District arrested a woman who was trafficking cannabis hidden inside pumpkins and masqueraded as pumpkin trader. She had cut open the top of the pumpkin, sucked out the interior succulent to create space and refilled it with rolls of cannabis.

In other cases, traffickers wrap cannabis all around their waist, there are those that wrap drugs in form of a baby and carry them on the back while others have been intercepted with the narcotics concealed in traditional milk cans commonly known as Icyansi.

There has also been instances where traffickers masqueraded as a Muslim and concealed the drugs in a Taqiyah (Muslim cap), or hiding them in their shoes while some women arrested previously were found with drugs concealed in their head-gears.

“It’s easier to know all these tricks because of the existing partnership with the residents through community policing; they feed us with information which continues to make it easier to identify and arrest the dealers,” IP Kayigi noted.

Drug related crimes are punishable under articles 593 to 598 and can attract a jail sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to Rwf5million if convicted