The quartet was at the time arrested with over 20kgs of cannabis. They are Joseph Ntakirutimana, Obed Byiringiro, Thomas Nsengiyumva and Joseph Tuyizere.
Kayonza District Police Commander (DPC), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Alex Fata said that Police, acting on credible information from the public, first arrested Thomas Nsengiyumva and Joseph Tuyizere in Gasabo Village, Kiyovu Cell of Ndego Sector also in Kayonza District with two sacks containing 20kgs of cannabis.
“Police received information at about 11am about two drug dealers, who were waiting for a public vehicle heading to Kabarondo. We swiftly conducted the operation and arrested Nsengiyumva and Tuyizere before boarding, with two sacks of cannabis weighing 20kgs. Tuyizere had 15kgs while Nsengiyumva had 5kgs,” said SSP Fata.
He added: “Following their arrest, Nsengiyumva and Tuyizere disclosed that they had got the narcotics from Byiringiro and Ntakirutimana, their suppliers, who were also located and arrested later. Byiringiro and Ntakirutimana also disclosed that they sneaked the narcotics into Rwanda from Tanzania, through a porous border point.”
SSP Fata lauded the impact of community policing and information sharing in particular, which facilitates to identify and arrest drug dealers and breaking rings of dealers.
The Ministerial order nº 001/MoH/2019 of 04/03/2019 establishing the list of narcotic drugs and their categorisation classifies cannabis in the category of “very severe narcotics.’’
Article 263 of law No. 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offenses and penalties in general states that any person, who unlawfully produces, transforms, transports, stores, gives to another or who sells narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, commits an offence.
Upon conviction for very severe narcotics, the offender faces between 20 years and life imprisonment, and a fine of up to Rwf30 million.
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