Local police in Burao town in Togdheer province seized 904 beer bottles and 1.5 kg of hashish during a security operation, finding the load in two trucks that drug traffickers had abandoned.[1] No suspects were arrested; the traffickers fled the scene after getting wind of the operation, according to the local authority.[1] The police commander called the drugs a danger to the general public and against religious belief.[1]
Court-ordered burning
A local administrator said the haul was burned in an event held after a court ruling: the beer had been brought in over the border with Ethiopia, while the hashish had been grown locally in the town.[1] The court fined two transport vehicles used in the case, one first-time offender 5 per cent of its value and one repeat offender caught earlier in Odweyne 10 per cent.[1]
