DRC: arrests in the middle of the bomb, new fashionable drug
Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
AFP - ALEXIS HUGUET
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
A hundred arrests took place Thursday in Kinshasa, the result of an anti-drug police operation against the "bulge", a narcotic made with residues of exhaust catalysts.
The operation was launched after the concerns expressed by the authorities about the harmful effects of the consumption of this drug, used mainly by young people.
Three Tunisian nationals are among those arrested.
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Pascal Mulegwa
The big blow, according to the police, was carried out in a concession near the city center.
Dozens of bags of catalyst were found there, and at least one was plastic containing pieces of blackened catalyst.
It is the raw material from which is extracted the dust which, when mixed with pharmaceutical products, gives the "bulge".
The packages and their owners, three Tunisians, were presented by the police alongside several dozen Congolese.
They are consumers, manufacturers or even dealers of cocaine, heroin, hemp and bombé.
►Read also: The dangers of the "bulge", an artisanal drug more and more consumed
During their presentation to the press, the suspected drug traffickers were seated on the ground.
Some, amazed when the police presented the charges to the governor, claimed to work legally for a company responsible for collecting ceramic filters, especially those found on the exhaust pipes of vehicles.
Some of the detainees will be presented to the prosecution for prosecution, the others will be made available to the national service, which is now responsible for the rehabilitation of offenders.
As part of this program, around 2,000 people have already been sent to the south-east of the country to be trained in various jobs, particularly in agriculture.
An atypical method supported by the government, but denounced by human rights NGOs.
►Call for news: La bombé, a new drug that is wreaking havoc in the DRC
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