By SAM PHIRI –
LUSAKA’s Chibolya Township has again recorded a rise in the illicit drug trade especially marijuana barely a year after the law enforcement agencies raided the township.
A check by Sunday Times in Chibolya on the infamous Gaza Street where marijuana is sold openly, found traders cashing in on the cannabis.
Some people were seen purchasing the cannabis in bulk for resale in other parts of the town and country.
Others were found freely offloading marijuana hidden in onion sacks from vans.
Investigations revealed that the traders had devised a method of using onion to conceal the contraband destined for other towns.
“ We put the cannabis in a bag of onion , that way it’s easy to transport it even using public passenger transport,”  Mwenya Mwamba, a trafficker  disclosed.
But the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has warned that it was not sitting idle watching lawlessness take root in Zambia.
DEC public relations office Theresa Katongo said the commission was aware of the escalating illegal drug trade not only in Lusaka but across the country and that it was devising a method to deal with the vice.
“For security reasons, we cannot tell you when and how we plan to address this issue of illegal drug trade especially in Chibolya.
We don’t want to alert anyone but the fact is that we are seriously working on it,” she said.
Ms Katongo further warned the public against taking advantage of the festive season to abuse.
Last year, a combined team of DEC and Zambia Police raided the notorious Chibolya Township and arrested hundreds of suspects that were found in possession of the illicit drug.