SA is biggest Sub-Saharan drug market
SA the biggest market for illicit drugs in sub-Saharan Africa
SOUTH Africa is the largest market for illicit drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, with the trafficking and use of drugs on an upward trajectory. This is according to the US State Department 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released earlier this month.
It reveals that trafficking and the use of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine (tik), Methcathinone (cat) and Methaqualone (mandrax) appeared to increase in the country last year.
The report shows South Africa is a trans-shipment point for cocaine and heroin, primarily to Europe.
Further, most drugs enter and exit the country via Gauteng’s OR Tambo International Airport or the Durban port, which are the busiest entry points in the country.
“South African authorities believe that only a fraction of the human couriers entering the country are apprehended.
“A portion (of drugs) is distributed for local consumption and the remainder is trafficked by land across international borders destined primarily for Europe,” the report says.
“Heroin, primarily of Afghan origin, typically arrives in ports in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique from south-west Asia and is subsequently transported by land to South Africa, often transiting Zambia and Botswana,” it states.
Heroin not consumed within South Africa is apparently trafficked via air to Europe, along with a small percentage shipped to the US.
“Methamphetamine, Methcathinone, and Methaqualone are synthesised in South Africa from precursors imported primarily from India and China. Clandestine laboratories are largely concentrated in Gauteng,” the report reads.
“A combination of heroin, marijuana, and often dangerous adulterants known as ‘nyaope’ is commonly used in poorer communities.”
The report, however, commends the South African police for establishing a dedicated narcotics unit last year.
“The SA Narcotics Enforcement Bureau was incorporated within the SAPS Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation,” the report states.
Commenting on the findings, Sam Pillay, the director of Anti-Drug Forum SA, felt that drug-trafficking could be clamped down on if effective policing measures were used.