7 held as 30kg of cannabis worth N$1.5m is seized at coast
Erongo police seized more than 30kg of cannabis worth over N$1,5 million in a three-day crackdown at Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in August 2023, and seven Namibian suspects were taken into custody. Reports describe a Kuisebmond house raid, a cannabis-seed parcel from Germany and a three-year sentence for one dealer.
🇳🇦 Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, Erongo Region · Namibia
Erongo police commander commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona announced the seizure on
Friday as a breakthrough in anti-drug operations in the region.[1]Police
seized more than 30kg of cannabis with a street value of over N$1,5 million from
seven separate suspects.[1]The seven suspects have appeared in court, while
others await their court appearances, according to the commissioner.[1]
The haul included cannabis seed intended for cultivation in Namibia.[1]Kupembona said the amount of seed was enough to plant a cannabis farm.[1]He
did not disclose how the drugs reached Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.[1]
Kupembona credited effective policing and community tip-offs for the results.[1]
NBC reported seven Namibian nationals in custody after separate arrests.[2]
Erongo’s drug squad raided a house in Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay, and found cannabis
valued at N$1.3 million.[2]In Swakopmund, a 31-year-old man was accused of
receiving a parcel from Germany containing cannabis seeds worth N$97 000 and
appeared in the Swakopmund Magistrates Court.[2]An undercover operation in
Walvis Bay led to the arrest of a 25-year-old man who was sentenced to three
years’ direct imprisonment for selling cannabis valued at about N$60,000.[2]Four more suspects arrested in two separate cases were reportedly found with
cannabis worth N$27,000.[2]
Kupembona said minors were being used as conduits for drug distribution while
young adults dealt drugs for income.[2]
Photos and video
Lead image on The Namibian's report of the coast cannabis crackdown, captioned with the headline 'Over N$1,5m worth of cannabis seized at coast'. Photo: The NamibianPhoto details
The article does not name the specific dates; Monday to Wednesday before the 14 August 2023 publication date is used to set 9 August 2023 as the incident date.
The Namibian describes the seizure only as more than 30kg of cannabis 'including' cannabis seed, so 30kg is treated as a floor for the total; no separate weight is given.
NBC puts the seven arrested down to separate cases including a parcel of cannabis seeds from Germany; whether seeds count toward the Namibian's 30kg figure is not stated.
NBC names individual suspects; those identifiers are deliberately left out of the structured details, and their court outcomes beyond one sentence are not reported in these accounts.
The N$1,5 million is the police commissioner's combined street valuation across the separate cases; the Namibian says the seizure also involved other drugs whose quantities and values are not separated out, so no cannabis-only total can be stated.
The lead photo carries only the headline as its caption and The Namibian gives no credit; it could not be confirmed to show the seized cannabis itself.
On 4 November 2026 a suspect fled on foot from a random vehicle search at the Bukalo roadblock in Zambezi, abandoning cannabis police valued at N$177,000 with a vehicle and cash. Police are hunting the suspect, wanted on six counts including dealing and possession of cannabis and money laundering.
Namibian police arrested a 38-year-old woman in Windhoek's Goreangab area in September 2026 after recovering about 10.2 kg of suspected cannabis and 17,717 Mandrax tablets worth over N$2.2 million. She faces drug-dealing charges.
Border officials at Noordoewer seized 104 parcels of skunk cannabis valued by police at N$5.45 million from a Windhoek-registered vehicle entering Namibia from South Africa. The Namibian driver fled during the scanner inspection and remained at large, while the traced owner denied owning the impounded vehicle.
Namibian Police said they arrested 196 suspects and seized 391,879.86 kilograms of cannabis between 1 and 28 February 2026. A second outlet reported the same cannabis weight and nationality breakdown but put the arrest count at 200.
