WINDHOEK – Two 11-year-old boys from a primary school in Katutura were arrested recently for selling mandrax tablets to fellow learners on the school grounds.
According to the head of the drug law enforcement unit of the Namibian police, Deputy Commissioner Fabian Musweu, one of the boys told the police that he got the drugs from his father to sell at school.
Musweu described mandrax as a highly addictive drug. The street value of a full tablet is N$120 and a half is sold for N$60. A quarter of the pill goes for N$30.
The boy was selling drugs with his peer at school. As a result, the father of the one boy was arrested on May 28 and appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court.
He was granted bail of N$600 and his case was postponed to June 14 for further investigations.
Musweu said the bail money was small because of the quantity confiscated by the police.
Musweu further told New Era that both boys were released in parental care.
However, Musweu expressed concern that although the boy found in possession of drugs was released in his mother’s care, the father lives with both of them.
The boys were arrested following a police tip-off.
“We were late and found him with one tablet. And you could see the boy was high,” Musweu remarked, adding that the boy’s father, who allegedly also uses drugs, denied that he gave his son the drugs to sell.
A press statement issued by Namibian police spokesperson Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi said the police have observed that some parents are allowing their minor school-going children to abuse and sell drugs at school.
“Owing to this, we are warning parents to be alert [and] moreover [desist] from using drugs because their children emulate their conduct. Drugs can be very destructive to society, especially to children. Therefore, we urge each and everyone to report dealers to their nearest police station so that we root them out of our society,” stated Shikwambi.
The principal of the school that the two boys attend declined to comment, saying he is not allowed to speak to the media. Meanwhile, the police arrested 176 suspects and seized drugs to the value of N$1.1 million during the month of May. Of the suspects arrested, 11 are foreign nationals.
A large quantity of cannabis – weighing a staggering 83,380 kg and valued at N$835 800 – was seized. This was followed by 549 mandrax tablets valued at N$65 880 seized.