{Police in Ngoma District on Thursday impounded a vehicle that was intercepted carrying about 150 kilogrammes of cannabis.}
The Toyota Corolla registration number RAB 029R was at the time found transporting the narcotic drug packed in sacks and stuffed in the boot.
According to the Eastern Province Police Spokesperson, Inspector of Police Emmanuel Kayigi, police intercepted the vehicle in Mutenderi sector along Kirehe-Ngoma highway, at around 2am.
“After receiving a tip off about the vehicle carrying drugs, we deployed along the road and when the suspects noticed a checkpoint from a distance, they stopped, got out and ran away abandoning the car,” said Kayigi.
He added that the drugs and the car were taken to Kibungo Police station as investigations continue to identify the owner and those who were trafficking cannabis.
In a related development, on December 2, Police in Kayonza district arrested Xavera Ayinkamiye with 15 kilograms of cannabis. She was on a public bus travelling from Rusumo to Kigali City.
According to Kayigi, “when police stopped the bus, Ayinkamiye became suspicious, got out of the car and attempted to flee, but the officers pursued and apprehended her.”
Ayinkamiye is currently held at Kabarondo police station as investigations into the case continue.
The Eastern Province is said to be the main drug trafficking route.
According to Kayigi police has conducted different operations and abrupt check points in some particular places based on information available from members of the public, and many drug dealers have been arrested.
“Drug dealing and consumption is a criminal act and punishable by the Rwandan law. The vice has negative effects that affect not only individuals but also communities. We consider crimes like theft, rape, defilement, school dropouts, unwanted pregnancies and assault as linked to drug dealing,” said Kayigi.
Article 594 of the Rwandan penal code, stipulates that, any person who, unlawfully, makes, transforms, imports, or sells narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances within the country, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of Rwf500, 000 to Rwf5 million.
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