Rwanda National Police

A crackdown on drug traffickers in Rubavu District led to the arrested of four people said to be part of the drug trafficking rings.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Innocent Gasasira, the Police spokesperson for the Western region, said that the suspects were arrested separately on March 23, with varied quantities of cannabis as they crossed into Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Two of the suspects identified as Jean de Dieu Kwizera, 23, and Imanishimwe Amani, 38, were found in possession of 2436 rolls of cannabis,” CIP Gasasira said.

Kwizera is said to be the owner of the narcotic while Imanishimwe was the driver hired to transport the drugs, according to Gasasira.

He identified other arrested drug dealers as Laurent Ntakamaro, 58, and Kampundu Zakia, 34, who were found in possession of 10kgs of cannabis.

“Drug traffickers employ various tricks in an attempt to beat security, but we are happy to say that the philosophy of proactive policing is playing an important role where the public report suspected dealers, which helps in successful operations,” the spokesperson said.

Rubavu is mapped as one of the major trafficking routes as well as the destination.

CIP Gasasira said that operations are continuous to break chains of supply, and called upon the general public to maintain the spirit of information sharing on people they suspect to be drug traffickers or local suppliers and retailers.