Confiscated drugs that return to the streets undermine efforts against the illegal drug trade.
The organisation Swakopmund Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse is thus calling for stricter measures against dealing in illicit drugs.
Swakopmund Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (SAADA) created a platform for stakeholders to commemorate International Day of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
SAADA chairperson Blasius !Goraseb and other stakeholders expressed concern over drugs and alcohol confiscated by the police, which they believe often find their way back to the streets.
Between January 2023 and December 2024, police confiscated illicit drugs valued at N$106 million, leading to over 3,000 arrests.
"What happens to the drugs that are confiscated? Where do they go? Who checks, and who makes sure that those drugs do not come back to our streets? And how do we keep these people accountable? I'm worried because the moment the police officers do a raid or plan even a raid, then those that are really the culprits already know, and they prepare themselves; they hide and run away, and the same drugs that we read in the newspapers that are being confiscated just come back on the streets again. That thing is serious."
Pieter Louw, who is a member of SAADA, shared his personal story of overcoming addiction.
"My addiction started while I was working in the police force. Because it was so readily available, the same information that I got is the same thing that I got again, and then we have a party."
A young resident of Swakopmund, Mandela Iyambo, said the conduct of police officers adds to the increase in drug usage.
"The officers in uniform, who are supposed to protect and have taken an oath, are the ones sitting in the barracks drinking the confiscated alcohol. That's where the root cause of the problem is. Sometimes you don't know if these contraband items or drugs are actually destroyed or anything.
Also speaking at the event was Jacqui Moller, who is a representative of SAAPA. questioned where the drugs are being kept.
"Are they burnt, or are they still somewhere in what do you call it, rooms for evidence, waiting for how many years? What will happen to the money that has been confiscated? Let's use those monies to plan these kinds of platforms."
The SAADA chairperson called on stakeholders to invest in drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes, as he believes law enforcement is not under their control.