HEROIN DOMINATES AS E15 868 400 DRUGS DESTROYED

MANZINI – Heroin dominated the drugs valued at E15 868 400, which were destroyed by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).

The drugs were destroyed at the Matsapha Municipality Landfill on Wednesday. Heroin, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, often used illicitly as a narcotic producing euphoria. The police reported that the largest quantity of the drugs was heroin, as it was said to be about 156 kilogrammes, with a street value of E15.6 million.

The heroin was said to have been confiscated in Lavumisa and Nsoko. The police reported that also among the destroyed drugs was mandrax. According to the Oxford Dictionary, mandrax is a sedative drug containing methaqualone and diphenhydramine hydrochloride. Meanwhile, the law enforcers said the mandrax was valued at E170 000 and was equivalent to 1 968 tablets. The mandrax pills were said to have been confiscated at Ngwenya Border Gate, while on transit.

Furthermore, the police reported that they also destroyed crystal meth with a street value of E98 400. Crystal meth, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is crystal methamphetamine (the drug methamphetamine in a powdered crystalline form). Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni said the police destroyed the drugs in the presence of Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati.

Mnguni said these drugs were obtained from cases which had been resolved in court, highlighting the ongoing efforts of REPS in maintaining public safety. Meanwhile, Magistrate Vilakati lauded the law enforcement authorities for their successful efforts to crack down on illegal drug trade. He commented that drugs, particularly heroin, had disastrous effects on people’s lives, especially on the youth, as they could cause severe addiction. Vilakati further emphasised that possession of drugs without the necessary licensing or permits remained strictly illegal in Eswatini.

Cocaine

This publication reported last year that Eswatini had over 14 000 users of cocaine, based on a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime research, titled ‘The powder storm, the cocaine markets of East and Southern Africa’.

This research was conducted in 16 African States and the domestic cocaine market data presented in the report was based on information gathered from a series of methodological approaches. Information on the cocaine market structures, distribution and use characteristics, was generated from focus group discussions with more than 1 000 people who use drugs (PWUD) and personal interviews with more than 1 700 informants, including more than 400 drug couriers and distributors, 70 high level drug importers and 40 law enforcement personnel.

For a subset of six focus countries (Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania), the retail market for cocaine was estimated by following a method used by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

It was revealed that for people who use cocaine, population size estimates for these individual countries were developed through a series of focus group discussions and interviews with PWUD groups. According to a report on the research, apart from cannabis, the drug most commonly used in the Eswatini drug market was cocaine, both in its powder and crack form.

The report further revealed that a gram of powder cocaine ranged in price in the local currency, from a low E250 (€14) to a high E600 (€32).  The price of crack cocaine saw a multitude of price points ranging from E250 for a ‘slop’ of 0.5g, which is mostly consumed by injection, to a larger ‘full moon’ that weighs 1.5g, which  costs E1 500 (€81) and is smoked.

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