3,000 TRAFFICKERS ARRESTED LAST YEAR

Nairobi

Police arrested 3,299 suspected drug traffickers last year.

They also seized 8,327 kgs of cannabis sativa (bhang), National Security
minister Chris Murungaru said yesterday.

The minister said the Government was taking deliberate action to discourage
drug abuse among the youth.

The remarks were contained in a speech read by Assistant minister Kivutha
Kibwana during the launch of the 2003 United Nations Annual Report of the
International Narcotics Control Board in Nairobi.

Murungaru said the Government was now increasingly getting communities
involved at the micro-level in its fight against illicit drugs trade and
other crimes.

"Unfortunately, some firms have conspired against the unsuspecting youth in
and out of learning institutions to promote smoking and drinking of spirits
in low-priced sachets," lamented Murungaru.

The minister also noted that young people are being targeted by drug barons
due to their peer pressure and the absence of guardians who shun their
responsibilities to the youth in the critical moment of their life.

"We are witnessing an increasing number of our able-bodied young citizens
who are expected to be either contributing to the country's socio-economic
growth and productivity or planning for their future having their lives
destroyed by illicit drugs," said Murungaru.

The minister cited glue sniffing by children in urban centres, the
perceived insecurity in city parks and streets resulting from the menace of
the intoxicated youth, money laundering, corruption and terrorism as being
some of the activities related to narcotics and psychotropic substances.

Murungaru, himself a pharmacist, said there was a close link between drugs
and the upsurge of crime, domestic violence, rape, poor health and unrest
in learning institutions.

The minister said past incidents of unrest, mostly masterminded by students
under the influence of drugs had led to destruction of school property and
deaths.

"The challenge is now on the part of parents, teachers, religious leaders
and the wider society to respond to the drug abuse problem," he said.

The minister said Kenya had continued to be a major transit point for the
trafficking of heroin, cocaine and other drugs due to its strategic
geographical location and good international communication network.

Murungaru regretted that although the Cabinet approved a report by an
Inter-ministerial Drug Co-ordinating Committee in April 2001, the document
was yet to get the necessary legislation.

He promised that the Government would operationalise the document as soon
as it got Parliamentary approval to enhance the fight against drug
trafficking and abuse.