South Africa: A huge consignment of narcotics was recently confiscated by the South African elite crime investigation unit – Hawks from a truck in Hluhluwe town on September 9. The consignment of 342.5 kg of Heroin has been valued at 87.5 million Rands and was enroute to KwaZulu-Natal.
The police arrested three individuals, two drug peddlers and a truck driver. They were taken to Hluhluwe court for trial. The law enforcement agencies are expecting the possibility of more arrests.African countries, especially South Africa, has reported several incidents of drug seizures in the recent past. Pakistani boats bring narcotics to the Mozambique coast and then they are transported to the southern part of the African continent till South Africa. Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya form the focal points of this route, called the southern route of Pakistani drug trade.
Africa’s east coast was for decades a secondary route for the international heroin trade, with its long coastline providing safe landing sites for Afghan heroin destined for markets in Europe and North America. The African route became more important as Middle East conflict and better enforcement shut down traditional access to Europe.Observers argue that the drug consignment might have originated from Pakistan as Mozambique is being predominantly used as a junction to route narcotics coming in from Pakistan.
It is believed that drug dealers from these three countries have developed connections with Pakistani drug peddlers who distribute it all over the world. It is also believed that Pakistani ISI has developed a deep drug supply chain.The areas of opium cultivation in Afghanistan are mostly under Taliban’s control, the ISI procures the opium poppy, processes it and then distributes it all across the world, generating massive revenue for the spy agency.A number of Pakistani drug peddlers are settled in countries like Mozambique,Tanzania, and Kenya who procure and distribute drugs from their fellow countrymen and ISI handlers.
Multiple drug seizures along the LoC and in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean Region have broken the back of ISI, which is now looking towards other parts of the world to sell its narcotics products in order to generate revenue. The Southern African countries should brace themselves for several similar seizures of narcotics originating from Pakistan.
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