The new Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances Act 2016, which was passed in parliament early February, has finally begun to bite, according to police.
This new law replaced the National Drugs Authority Act, whose punitive measures international drug traffickers found to be lenient, and which law enforcement authorities viewed as a stumbling block to curbing drug use within Uganda.
Speaking to The Observer yesterday, the commissioner in charge of anti-narcotics, Tinka Zarugaba, said, “The new law against drug users and traffickers is stronger compared to the old law since it has increased punishment to drug dealers who can be imprisoned for life.”
Zarugaba added that in the new law, drug traffickers will pay a fine of Shs 10 million and get life sentences, while those found in possession of drugs will serve prison sentences of up to 10 years and pay a fine of Shs 10m.
In the old law, those found guilty of drug trafficking would serve one year in prison and pay a fine of Shs 1m, which most of the culprits would readily pay.
On Wednesday, police at Entebbe international airport arrested two suspects, a mother and daughter, who were found with heroin worth Shs 2.6 billion.
The suspects, who are Nigerian nationals, were identified as 76-year-old Agnes Aniugo Egonna and 35-year-old Gloria Aniugo. The police spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan, Emilain Kayima, told The Observer that the pair arrived in Uganda on November 20 using Ethiopian Airlines. They claimed they had come for an introduction party involving their son.
Kayima added that when the suspects were returning, security checked their bags and found 5kilogrammes of heroin.
“The suspects cut their suitcases, put heroin inside, sealed them and put the rest of the luggage on top. When security is checking, it is hard to notice that there is heroin in the bag,” he explained.
Kayima added that this is the second time in two weeks that police is arresting foreigners with heroin at the airport. He added that a week ago, police arrested two South Africans with heroin worth Shs 300m.
SOURCES OF NARCOTICS
According to Tinka, most narcotics like cocaine, heroin and ethanol are imported into the country by Nigerians and South Africans, who then use Ugandans to transport them to other destinations.
Tinka explained that Uganda has for a long time been seen as a convenient transit point for narcotics by traffickers because of the weak laws that they can circumvent.
According to Tinka, the old law didn’t even ban the transit of some narcotics despite the fact that they are harmful to people’s health. Some of these drugs include jet fuel, smokeless tobacco, shisha, kuber, and green tea that issometimes mixed with narcotics and alcohol.
“The drugs mixed in tea leaves, alcohol and tobacco are very difficult to detect yet many people are using them. They are very dangerous to our lives,” Tinka says.
Besides the weak old laws, the narcotics department is new in the police, having been created in 2010 in response to the growing transportation of narcotics through Uganda and use of drugs around the country.
According to Tinka, the next big challenge that Uganda needs to tackle is the lack of rehabilitation policy that would help former drug users who want to clean up their act.
zurah@observer.ug