Major DCEA Operations: 9 Tonnes of Illicit Drugs Seized, Vehicles and Motorcycles Confiscated.



By Our Correspondent

Dar es Salaam

The Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) has successfully seized nine tonnes of illicit drugs in various operations conducted in late December 2025, during which 66 suspects were arrested and vehicles used in the crimes were taken into custody.

Speaking to journalists today, January 8, 2026, the Commissioner General, Aretas Lyimo, said a total of 9,689.833 kilograms of narcotic drugs were seized, along with 11 motorcycles and three vehicles in different parts of the country.

In an operation conducted in Sinza C, Bustani Street in Dar es Salaam, a Kenyan national, Jefferson Kilonzo Mwapande (35), was arrested in possession of 131.88 grams of heroin. The suspect, who had been living in Tanzania since 2023, used a tea-selling business as a cover for his drug trafficking activities.

In another incident, 20 packages of skunk weighing 20.03 kilograms were seized in Wailes Street, Temeke, hidden inside a wooden plank and loaded onto a Scania bus with Mozambican registration number AAM 297 CA, which operates between Nampula, Mozambique and Tanzania. The suspects arrested were Amasha Iddi Mirisho (40), a resident of Buza in Dar es Salaam, and Seleman Juma Ally (32), a Mozambican national.

In Kinyerezi area, Mladoka Street in Ilala District, three suspects — Erick Ernest Ndaga (32), Paul Blass Henry (34) and Tito Emanuel Mukude (35) — were arrested while transporting 193.66 kilograms of cannabis from Morogoro to Dar es Salaam.

Meanwhile, during inspections conducted at cargo transport companies in Dar es Salaam, 20 packages of khat weighing 9.54 kilograms were seized after being disguised as dried “mwaroani” leaves and shipped from Kenya to Australia.

DCEA further reported that in the regions of Mwanza, Shinyanga, Morogoro, Tanga, Lindi, Kilimanjaro, Njombe, Kigoma and Arusha, various narcotic drugs were seized, including 37.34 grams of heroin, 1.015 kilograms of skunk, 7,969.98 kilograms of cannabis and 1,363.701 kilograms of khat. Additionally, 14 acres of cannabis farms were destroyed.



At the same time, the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) confirmed that the bus implicated in the drug trafficking case did not have a valid operating licence in Tanzania.

Speaking on the matter, LATRA Acting Director of Surface Transport Regulation, Halima Lutavi, said the vehicle did not have an operating licence in Tanzania despite being instructed to register under LATRA’s official system.

She explained that the owner registered in August 2025 for the installation of a speed-limiting device but failed to report to LATRA offices for inspection and licensing as required, until the vehicle was seized by DCEA while transporting drugs.

“LATRA cannot issue a licence without inspecting the vehicle concerned. In this regard, legal action will be taken in accordance with existing regulations, including suspending services for 12 vehicles owned by the individual, of which only two are properly licensed,” said Lutavi.

She added that LATRA will continue to cooperate with other authorities to ensure safety and legality in transport services, and urged vehicle owners to refrain from activities that undermine the nation.

Furthermore, DCEA has called on the public to provide information on indicators of drug trafficking and to avoid transporting cargo they do not know, stressing that nationwide operations against drug-related crimes will continue.

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