The sector coordinator of Niboyi, Kicukiro District, Jean Marie Ngamije has said that over 100 people are arrested each month over drug abuse in the sector.

Speaking to The New Times, Ngamije said that most of the culprits are arrested by district Local Defence personnel for smoking marijuana and sniffing glue.

"We have been trying to maintain our security with the help of Local Defence Units but the problem is that the culprits are always released from detention,” Ngamije said.

Ngamije said that street kids were among the arrested youths taking illicit drugs. He also noted that the alarming consumption of drugs had spread to primary school pupils because of consumers who hide near schools while taking the drugs.

Several authorities in Rwanda including the national police have stepped up efforts to curb drug abuse in the country. Last year authorities in Ruhango District, Southern Province, set ablaze a six-hectare marijuana plantation in Kinazi Sector.

The plantation reportedly belonged to Theophile Nsegimana, 34, who had been growing marijuana for more than 15 years.

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