Authorities in Zimbabwe have a renewed hope to end drug and substance abuse as well as trafficking after receiving equipment from China to detect narcotics instantly.

Rutendo Maraire

The Police said with the new equipment and technology from the Asian market, Zimbabwe could easily detect drugs and deal with peddlers or traffickers.

The Anti-narcotics laboratory equipment that was handed over to Zimbabwe by the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding this Thursday in Harare

Drug abuse has been a cancer which has left authorities unsettled to the extent that they now see it as a national threat.

According to the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network, alcohol, drugs and other substance abuse in order of consumption is cannabis (67%); cough syrup (47%); crystal meth (36%); illegal alcohol, (31%); pharmaceuticals (13%); crack (3%); cocaine powder (3%) and heroin (2%).

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Republic of Police (ZRP), Godwin Matanga said the donation will help fight the new menace which has potentially destroyed the future generation.

“I am thus confident that the anti-narcotics laboratory and the analysis equipment inclusive of the rampant spectrometer and drug extraction and sampling kits will go a long way in leveraging our capacity to gather forensic evidence for the prosecution of drug-related crimes,” Matanga said.

According to the National Institute of Health, poverty has been identified as a risk factor for substance abuse as it affects 70% of the population. Socio-economic challenges are also linked to increased rates of stress, trauma and mental health challenges which are all risk factors for substance use.

Matanga said he was confident that the laboratory would go a long way in helping the police deal with issues that have to do with drug abuse.

“Zimbabwe, like any other nation across the world, is battling against this scourge of drug and substance abuse. An alarmingly large number of our citizens, the bulk of them being our youths, now find themselves entangled in the web of drug and substance abuse,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhou Ding said the equipment will help the ZRP work in drug and substance abuse.

“It will further improve the ZRP’s capacity in drug identification, detention and analysis,” he said.

He expressed excitement to note that there is a Chinese desk at the ZRP, a sign of improved Zim-China relations.

The Zimbabwe-China relations have been strengthening with the Chinese government assisting Zimbabwe in all aspects like in the construction of the new parliament building in Mt Hampden, some hospitals, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and more.

“I’m so glad to note that there is a Chinese desk in the ZRP that specially deals with crimes against Chinese citizens and coordinates law enforcement cooperation between our two countries in combating cross-border crimes which have produced very fruitful results,” he said.