26 kg of cannabis found in a chilli lorry at Moroni customs; woman fled
Customs officers in Moroni found more than 26 kg of cannabis herb hidden with a cargo of chillies in a lorry on 29 July 2009, valued by the brigade chief at 26 million Comorian francs. The woman who came forward as the owner fled during the inspection and was still being sought by the gendarmerie.
🇰🇲 Moroni customs, Moroni, Grande Comore · Comoros
Customs officers in Moroni found more than 26 kg of cannabis herb hidden in a
lorry carrying chillies.[1]The lorry had been stopped at the customs gate so
that officers could establish who owned its load.[1]A woman in her forties
presented herself as the owner and the vehicle and the woman were taken into the
customs warehouse for investigation.[1]While the officers withdrew to another
office to confer before examining the parcels, the woman fled, and she was still
being sought.[1]
Four buckets of more than six kilograms each were found to hold blocks of
cannabis mixed in with the chillies.[1]Customs brigade chief Anfane Mohamed
said the cannabis had been loaded onto the boat Shisiwani 2, which arrived from
Dar es Salaam on 26 July 2009.[1]Anfane Mohamed said the cannabis was valued
at 26 million Comorian francs.[2]The drugs were destroyed by fire on the
orders of the prosecutor, the brigade chief said.[2]
The investigating officers said the penalty for this kind of case is
confiscation of the smuggled goods, the means of transport and the objects used
to mask the fraud, a fine of twice the value of the goods and up to three months
in prison.[1]The woman, who was identified as living in the Irungudjani
district of Moroni, had not returned home, and the gendarmes continued to search
for her.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article says the load was found "yesterday" and was published on 31 July 2009, so 29 July is used as the incident date; the Al-watwan reprint is dated 30 July.
The woman was never taken into custody; the reports do not say whether she was later found, charged or tried.
The 26 million Comorian franc valuation is customs brigade chief Anfane Mohamed's figure; the reports do not state the basis of the estimate.
The reports describe the cannabis as about 26 kg of herb in four buckets of more than six kilograms each; no exact weighings of each bucket were given.
The Al-watwan originals could not be opened directly; the second account is a reprint on a personal blog.
Customs and border police at Moroni's Hahaya airport seized 150 slabs of cannabis resin weighing 14 kg from a young Comorian woman arriving from France on 14 February 2026. She was arrested for importation; no charge or court outcome has been published.
The Comorian coast guard intercepted a fishing boat in Comorian waters on the night of 17 January 2026 and seized 149 kg of cannabis. Several people were detained, including a repeat facilitator known to the security services, and the drugs were later burned at the Anjouan court.
Comoros' National Gendarmerie seized 71 kg of cannabis at the fishermen's quay in Magoudjou, Moroni, on 27 July 2021 and detained two people described as members of the network. The gendarmerie said the investigation was continuing and the drug would go to the prosecutor for incineration.
Customs officers seized 2.6 kg of cannabis from a crew member aboard the Sima B at the Port of Moroni and arrested him after the vessel arrived from Majunga. The man, known as Bosco, was held in pre-trial detention while prosecutors opened a case and sought alleged accomplices.
