CANNABIS FARMS FOUND IN MANICA

The Mozambican authorities have discovered about two hundred hectares of land covered with cannabis plants in the district of Guro, in the central province of Manica.According to the daily paper “Diario de Mozambique”, 25 cannabis farms were found in the region, but their owners are still unknown.In the area cannabis plants by far exceed food crops, which are only being cultivated with the sole purpose of concealing the drugs. Dense cover also helps prevent the fields covered with cannabis from being seen.Most of the plantations were found close to the banks of the Luenha river in Calombolombo.Caeredzi, in neighbouring Zimbabwe is the preferred market, due to its close proximity and its easy access through the Caeredzi river.A joint operation carried out by the local law enforcement authorities in coordination with the Provincial Office for Drug Control and Prevention, led by chief of operations of the Mozambican Police in Manica, Joaquim Tomo, has already incinerated more than 21 tonnes of cannabis plants.The police commander of Guro district, Esperanca Calisto, said that there is an urgent need to strengthen the law enforcement authorities with adequate staff and vehicles to speed up the destruction of cannabis farms in the region.Calombolombo is located about 300 miles from Chimoio, the provincial capital of Manica. It is difficult to get there given the state of disrepair of the existing road. The road is mostly dirt, is covered in rocks and in places is very steep, rendering it accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles.Government authorities in Guro are carrying out campaigns to discourage this illegal activity, urging local residents only to embrace legal crops.On Wednesday, the permanent secretary of the district of Guro, Candido Pedro Jose, delivered seeds to encourage the population to grow food crops to ensure food security in the region.“You should devote yourselves to food production, to the fight against hunger”, said Candido Pedro, addressing a group of women who received seeds to grow cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, lettuce and onions.Some of these women have also been employed to take part in the destruction of cannabis plants, which were later incinerated.The destruction of cannabis plants is still taking place. In parallel, the local authorities have launched an investigation to identify the owners of the illegal cannabis farms, who will face criminal charges.