BURERA - Local authorities in Burera District Wednesday destroyed illicit drugs and liquors worth Rwf4.5m in Cyanika sector, which was seized from traffickers over the last three months.

The destroyed items included marijuana, 2,240 litres of Kanyanga (crude gin), over 1,800 cartons of Chief Waragi, 585 bottles of Leading Waragi and a large assortment of polythene materials.

During the three-month operation, at least 26 people suspected of selling marijuana were also arrested and have since been produced in court.

Speaking at the site where the items were destroyed, the Governor of the Northern Province, Aime Bosenibamwe, warned residents against facilitating drug smuggling and consumption.

The Regional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Peter Hodari called for cooperation between community policing committees and residents to break the drug trafficking network.

Many residents gathered to witness the destruction of the illicit drugs, some of whom gave testimony of the effects of drug abuse and how they managed to abandon the habit.

‘’We call upon the local authorities to engage in fighting this vice in our society because most of the people arrested come from other areas and are arrested here. We need to collaborate to stop this network of trafficking in drugs,’’ Bosenibamwe said.

It has been reported that most of the drugs are sneaked into the country through neighbouring countries namely the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

A recent cross-border security meeting between Rwandan and Ugandan authorities agreed to jointly fight drug trafficking.

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