Young man held with one and a half sacks of hemp at Mambasa-centre
On 15 October 2026 the public prosecutor’s office at Mambasa peace court seized one and a half sacks of hemp and held a young man suspected of trafficking at Mambasa-centre; civil-society monitors said a FARDC lieutenant was named as the presumed owner, without court or military confirmation.
🇨🇩 Mambasa-centre, Mambasa territory, Ituri · DR Congo
On Thursday 15 October 2026 the public prosecutor’s office at the Mambasa peace court intercepted a
young man presented as involved in hemp trafficking at Mambasa-centre, in Ituri province.[1][2]The
parquet seized one and a half sacks of the substance and placed the suspect in custody, according to
Maître Jospin Paluku Mbowa, territorial coordinator of the Nouvelle Société Civile Congolaise (NSCC)
in Mambasa.[1][2]
The NSCC told RFE1 News and Bunia Actualité that information it gathered pointed to a lieutenant in
the 31st brigade of the FARDC as the presumed owner of the hemp, but the outlets stressed that this
had not been established by investigators and that no reaction from the parquet or brigade command
was available.[1][2]
Paluku Mbowa welcomed the parquet’s action and urged residents of Mambasa-centre to report suspected
hemp sales to judicial or intelligence services.[1][2]He linked illicit drug commerce to insecurity
in the territorial capital and called on authorities to pursue the case.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Agency type
Prosecutor
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Street or public place
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
RFE1 Newsrfe1news.cdFRRD Congo : à Mambasa en Ituri, un jeune arrêté avec un sac et demi de chanvre, un militaire suspecté d’être impliqué
Bunia Actualitébuniaactualite.cdFRIturi : du chanvre saisi à Mambasa, un officier militaire soupçonné d’être impliqué dans le trafic
Open questions the AI reported
The weight of one and a half sacks of hemp was not given in kilograms.
The named FARDC lieutenant of the 31st brigade is an allegation from the Nouvelle Société Civile Congolaise; no judicial or military source confirmed it in these reports.
Neither outlet published the young suspect’s name or any charge sheet from the parquet.
Direct photo URLs on the news sites could not be retrieved for archiving when tested.
Security services incinerated at least five sacks of hemp seized from shops in Biakato, along with high-strength alcohol and expired goods, at a public ceremony at the local stadium on 7 October 2026; no sellers were named or arrested in the reports.
Security services intercepted 17 packages of cannabis at the SNCC freight yard in Mwene-Ditu on 4 September 2026 as they were about to leave by train toward Katanga. Mayor Gérard Tshibanda Kabwe watched them burned at city hall alongside urban security council members and SNCC officials.
On 16 December 2025 Kinshasa’s judicial police narcotics unit seized 56 sacks of cannabis hidden in a container during checks at Mitendi, west of the capital, and arrested suppliers with more sacks and kraft paper used for retail packs.
On 14 March 2025 police in Matadi arrested Mavambu Kitsofi, alias Muke Tonga, and FARDC adjutant Barumé Moïse during Operation Ndobo, seizing 10 sacks of cannabis and kraft paper rolls used for retail packaging.
