DAR ES SALAAM, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian anti-narcotics authorities seized a total of 35,227.5 kilograms of illicit drugs, including morphine, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, between March 2021 and Feb. 2022, an official said on Wednesday.
Pindi Chana, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs and Coordination, said the record seizure of the drugs were a result of stringent measures put forward by President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration who came into power on March 19, 2021.
Chana told a news conference in the capital Dodoma that the drugs were seized by the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) in collaboration with other agencies, including the police.
She said among the seized drugs during the period under review were 22,741.10 kilograms of morphine, 1,124 kilograms of heroin, 428.60 kilograms of methamphetamine and 811.3 grams of cocaine.
"A record 859.36 kilograms of heroin were seized in one day," said Chana.
In addition, she said, 195 hectares of cannabis were destroyed by law enforcers in Rufiji district in Coast region during the period under review. ■