Drug dealers work openly at mini malls throughout Harare. These spaces once housed banks but have changed into small retail shops where sellers hide their activities. Many stalls serve as storage places for broncleer cough syrup and crystal meth called mutoriro. Young runners pick up orders from back rooms and deliver drugs to street corners. Buildings along George Silundika Avenue lack security cameras, letting people exchange drugs behind closed doors after secret knocks.
Police found someone having seizures in a mall bathroom after taking too many drugs last March. Property owners rent spaces to anyone who pays without checking backgrounds. A police officer said dealers learn about raids before they happen, making arrests difficult. The Zimbabwe Republic Police tries harder to stop dealers but faces challenges because some landlords ignore security issues. Courts give longer jail sentences for drug crimes since the government created a special agency last year to fight substance abuse.
Officials have arrested more than 6,000 people for drug crimes since January 2023. About 670 of these people supplied drugs to others.
Police found someone having seizures in a mall bathroom after taking too many drugs last March. Property owners rent spaces to anyone who pays without checking backgrounds. A police officer said dealers learn about raids before they happen, making arrests difficult. The Zimbabwe Republic Police tries harder to stop dealers but faces challenges because some landlords ignore security issues. Courts give longer jail sentences for drug crimes since the government created a special agency last year to fight substance abuse.
Officials have arrested more than 6,000 people for drug crimes since January 2023. About 670 of these people supplied drugs to others.
