Eastern African countries' ports are now being used by drug traffickers as a leeway to transport drugs across their networks.
And this is not in the movies or series such as Narcos. It is the real thing happening.
The port of Dar es Salaam, for example, is said to be the region’s point of contact which facilitates the movement of narcotics to Kenya, Uganda and Europe. This is made possible due to its porous borders with inadequate port security and its long coastline. The major drug being trafficked across this port is heroin.
The Kenyan port gets access to heroin from Southwest Asia through direct shipment through the Indian Ocean. A major part of this commodity leaves for the European market, while the rest mostly penetrates the coastal region of the country adding up the number of dependents.
Despite the fact that both the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments are trying to fight drug trafficking along their waters, the business is still booming. The few drug traffickers who have been arrested on claims of being engaged in the trade have neither made the number of traffickers nor the supply any lesser.
It is the duty of Kenya’s Anti-Narcotics Unit to put stringent measures on people who are found guilty of trafficking and selling narcotics, especially in the coastal region. Their officers should also not allow themselves to be bribed to allow these products to come into the country.
There should also be a joint effort between the drug enforcement agencies from the Eastern African region so that they can be able to fight the trafficking, selling and use of narcotics. It will be of no use if one country is on the radar against these traffickers while the rest are seated, relaxing and seeing their countries getting destroyed.
They should look at the damages that come with the use of these narcotics on their citizens, especially the youths, who become totally dependent on them and cannot engage in any productive activities that can benefit their societies.
It is also through the use of these drugs that people get to contract diseases such as HIV-AIds, which is easily transferred through the sharing of needles and having unprotected sex due to their impaired state of mind.
