196 arrested as police report 392 tonnes of cannabis in February
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.
Namibian Police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the police
seized various illicit drugs and arrested 196 suspects in February.[1]She
said the seizures and arrests were recorded between 1 and 28 February.[1]New
Era reported that Namibian Police said the arrests covered 1 to 28 February 2026
and that 200 people were arrested.[2]Police said the 196 suspects included
187 Namibian nationals, seven Angolan nationals and one Zimbabwean national.[1]New Era listed the same nationality breakdown of 187 Namibians, seven
Angolans, one Zimbabwean and one Tanzanian.[2]
The drugs seized included 391 879.86 kilograms of cannabis, about 391.9 tonnes.[1]New Era reported that cannabis weight as 391,879 kilograms.[2]The same
seizures also included 28 363 mandrax tablets, 47.7 grams of cocaine powder,
412.5 units of crack cocaine and 50 abortion tablets.[1]
Shikwambi said the recordings highlighted the police commitment to law
enforcement.[1]She said police remained determined to combat illegal drugs
and to arrest those found in possession of them or involved in dealing in them.[1]The figures cover seizures and arrests recorded across that February
period, not a single named raid.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
New Era reported 200 arrests while The Namibian quoted 196; both accounts' nationality counts add up to 196, which this report uses.
The accounts do not say how many arrests, or what share of the cannabis, related only to cannabis rather than the other drugs in the same total.
No places of the individual seizures, plant counts, field area or street value were published.
No charges or court outcomes were reported for the suspects.
The cannabis weight is the police figure as published, with no explanation of how it was measured.
The New Era report also describes a separate weekend case of three people, including an alleged attempt to pass drugs into Rundu prison, which is not part of this monthly total.
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 arrested 211 suspects and seized more than 1 085 kilogrammes of cannabis during drug operations across the country in September 2025, alongside Mandrax, cocaine powder and crack cocaine. Deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said 202 of those arrested were Namibian nationals and the rest came from Angola, Zambia, Burundi and Tanzania.
