Arusha drug crackdown nets 80 arrests, including a police officer
Police in Tanzania's Arusha region arrested 80 suspects in a month-long narcotics crackdown, 54 of them for possessing 3,845 rolls of marijuana. A police officer, D/CPL Zakayo, was among those held, accused of soliciting bribes from drug dealers; all suspects were later charged in regional courts.
Police in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha arrested 80 suspects for alleged involvement in narcotics use, trafficking and trade during a special crackdown across the region.[1]Arusha regional police commander Charles Mkumbo said 54 of them were netted for possessing 3,845 rolls of marijuana during the month-long search.[1]
One of the 80 arrested was a police officer, D/CPL Zakayo, who was being interrogated over allegedly soliciting bribes from drug dealers during the crackdown.[1]Mkumbo said Zakayo had gone around blackmailing people to cash in on the cleanup, and he declined to name the other suspects or value the drugs for fear of harming the investigations.[1]
All of the suspects were later charged in courts across the region.[1]The crackdown followed President John Magufuli’s directive ordering the security and defence forces to apprehend all narcotics suspects irrespective of their status.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Tanzania's Drug Control and Enforcement Authority announced on 29 September 2026 that July–September operations across 14 regions seized 18,078 kg of drugs including 11,504.76 kg of cannabis and 44.45 kg of skunk, arresting 289 suspects. Morogoro and Tabora accounted for most of the cannabis; vehicles used by traffickers were impounded.
Tanzania's Drug Control and Enforcement Authority reported destroying 603 acres of cannabis farms in four Mvomero district villages, seizing 49 bags of processed cannabis and arresting 13 suspects. Authorities also dismantled 21 temporary camps used by growers.
Tanzania's drug authority said that by 3 August 2026 a 16-day operation in Kilwa district had destroyed 3,117.9 acres of cannabis in Kandawale and Kipatimo wards and arrested 12 suspects. Between 200 and 250 residents joined the clearing each day.
The Dar es Salaam High Court on 29 May 2026 overturned the Ilala court's acquittal of Nurdini Juma, charged with trafficking 314.45 g of cannabis found in his Kivule room in February 2025, ruling a prima facie case existed. The case was sent back for retrial before a different magistrate.
