DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania on Friday amended a legislation to empower the Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) in controlling drug trafficking.
The amended Drug Control and Enforcement Act will allow the DCEA to own weapons and use armed officers when arresting drug barons.
Jenista Mhagama, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, told the National Assembly that the amended law will also give DCEA powers to seize bank accounts of suspected drug barons for a specific period.
"There will be no bail to drug barons," said Mhagama.
She told the House that DCEA will now be able to regulate importation and illegal possession of restricted chemicals that can be used in the production of heroin, cocaine and improvised explosive devices.
The amended law also provides for conviction of heads of institutions and public offices or any individuals failing to provide relevant information to the DCEA, said Mhagama.
Mhagama said the government has been spending a lot of money in treating drug addicts by enrolling them to clinics for methadone programs.
She said the government spent 180,000 U.S. dollars for methadone programs in 2016 and 450,000 dollars in 2017.
The ineffective Drugs and Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Drugs Act was repealed in 2015 to form the Drug Control and Enforcement Act. The new act replaced the previous drugs commission with DCEA. Enditem
