Ethiopia: Police seize 73 Kg of illicit drugs

ByTesfa-alem Tekle

December 29, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian police has caught 73 kilograms of cannabis in the capital, Addis Ababa state run TV quoted an official from federal police crime and Narcotic prevention office as saying on Saturday.

“The Addis Ababa Federal Police have arrested 5 drug traffickers who were attempting to sale 73 kilograms of cannabis” inspector Hagos Haile, was Quoted as saying.

“Two of the five drug traffickers taken to custody are women” Inspector Hagos Haile added.

The 5 drug traffickers were caught while making a deal to sale it for 20,000 Ethiopian birr. The state run TV said.

According to the official, the just seized illicit drug is relatively large in quantity compared to what are seized recently.

Drug smuggling in Ethiopia is not often common but in recent years a number of Ethiopians and Africans are reportedly smuggling drugs from the oromiya region’s shashemene town, Jamaicans home in Ethiopia, where natural opium is believed to be produced in large scale.

The drug smugglers where caught based on an initial forwarded information from the oromia state’s Arusi town police department.

(ST)