Pubdate: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 Source: New Era (Namibia) Copyright: New Era 2004 Contact: http://www.newera.com.na/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3380 Author: Emma Kakololo Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) DAGGA FOUND IN CLASSROOM Luderitz An attentive cleaner recently stumbled on a small parcel of cannabis that was neatly wrapped in brown paper in one of the Grade 7 classrooms at a primary school in Luderitz. The cleaner, who was performing her daily chores, found the illicit substance under a chair, after which she alerted her seniors. The substance, that can be smoked, chewed or made into a tea, was discovered in a classroom at Nautilus Primary School. Jakes van Rooy, the principal at Nautilus Primary, suspects a learner must have hidden the dagga under the chair. "Someone must have put it there and definitely a child. A child was using it," he told New Era. Truancy is apparently very high at the school and the principal suspects the absenteeism could be a result of the drug use by some of the learners. "What worries me is learners are constantly absent and I don't get confirmation from parents. Those absent are mostly learners from a specific grade," he said. A concerned citizen, Susan Harris, told New Era that some parents came to her to express their concern about the prevalent use of drugs, of even those categorised as "hard drugs", among the youth at Luderitz. "Its not anymore cannabis and mandrax like we used to know in the past. Now it is hard drugs such as cocaine and heroine," she said. "Parents are shocked about what is happening in Luderitz and want to come together to form an organisation to fight this evil in our society," she said. "My big concern is Vision 2030. If this generation has started to destroy their lives and they are the ones to see that Vision 2030 is realised, are they going to be there," she queried. Recently two suspects belonging to a group called the Chinese Mafia in Windhoek, Yu Chin, were denied bail by the court for being in possession of heroine with a street value of N$100 000. Yu Chin and other two Chinese nationals, 22-year-old Cui Cui of China Town in the Northern Industria, and 25-year-old Zhang Fuwang of Johann Albrecht Street, were arrested following a police hunt. Last week the South African elite police organisation, the Scorpions, seized mandrax powder worth about N$750 million in Durban, concealed in cans of paint in shipping containers. According to a newspaper report, the containers were registered to transport about 1 500 paint powder cans from China to Mozambique of which more than a quarter were filled with mandrax powder. According to documentation seized, Namibia was supposed to be the final destination after Pemba in Mozambique. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake