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Activist blames socio-economic factors for drug smuggling prevalence

todayOctober 2, 2024 161

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Researcher and founder of SA Drug Policy, Shaun Shelly, says vulnerable women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are usually targeted to traffic drugs.

Most of the time, according to Shelly, these women are lured by the prospect of being paid at least R30 000. He says they don’t even ask about the chances of being caught.

He was weighing in on the case of 21-year-old Mantwa Tshabalala, who is on trial for attempting to smuggle drugs worth more than R500 000 into the country. She was returning from Brazil when law enforcement officials pounced on her at the OR Tambo International Airport.

According to the police, 11 people have been arrested for drug trafficking over the past two months.
Shelly says drug traffickers are usually set up as decoys in order to take attention away from a smuggler with a larger consignment.
The researcher says recent increase in drug trafficking cases shows that there is a high demand for the substance in South Africa.
In July, during the 3rd Ordinary Session of the 6th Pan-African Parliament sitting, it was revealed that over 575 000 people were arrested for drug trafficking across Africa between 2016 and 2021.

More than 200 000 tons of illicit substances were seized.

Speaking at PAP, Drug demand reduction expert for the Economic Community of West African States, Dr Olubusayo Akinola, bemoaned the worrying trend of drug abuse on the continent, also blaming it on social and economic factors.

Shelly says such crimes won’t go down until socio-economic conditions of poor people are improved.

Written by: Nokwazi Qumbisa

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