2017-06-27Staff Report 2 Alvine Kapitako Windhoek-The infamous nyaope, an addictive street drug credited with destroying the lives of young people in South Africa, has hit Namibia and dealers are selling it for N$ 120 a gram for the illicit drug. Nyaope is a concoction of rat poison, heroin and antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), and according to the Namibian Police Force’s (Nampol) Drug Law Enforcement Division, the trend has now hit Namibia. “My concern is that they (Namibians) are following the same pattern as what we read and hear in South Africa on Nyaope,” Detective Inspector Maria Louw of the Drug Law Enforcement Division said in an interview with New Era recently. Louw who together with the head of the Drug Law Enforcement Division, Deputy Commissioner, Fabian Musweu explained that drug dealers and addicts crush the ARVs and put them on top of the cannabis (dagga) and then smoke it in order to get that ‘kick’. “It’s not so much. But once these things start from our neighbouring countries it comes here,” Musweu said, and remarked that when South Africa sneezes Namibia catches the flu. They explained that many of the drug users as well as merchants are HIV positive, hence the easy availability of the ARVs. Furthermore, they explained the drug users engage in highly risky sexual activities consequently contracting HIV in the process. They explained the sex drive of people who use drugs is very high and in the process, they sleep with whomever they can find just to satisfy that desire. Sometimes, when the female drug users crave a ‘fix’ they end up sleeping with any man they find or even the drug dealers when they do not have money, the two further explained. “All these drugs make the sex drive very high. They forget about protection when engaging in sex. They sleep among themselves if they are in a group. Most users are sick (HIV positive) because of that recklessness,” Musweu said. He explained that most addicts were just experimenting with drugs before they became hooked. Furthermore, he explained that some addicts start with cannabis, which is one of the cheapest drugs on the market. In addition, the more they use it they end up trying other drugs. “When days go by you need something stronger (to satisfy the cravings),” Musweu explained. They warned that drugs are “highly addictive” and are destroying the lives of many Namibians. “That’s why you would find that when a businessman or a person with a good income starts using drugs they will blow up all their money. At the end of the day, we see those people whom we knew had money or were married have lost all of that,” Musweu said. “At the end of the day you are going to steal just to have a fix,” he said. Louw concurred saying, “And that is what happens in reality in Namibia. You would find young people in the house stealing everything that they can get their hands on.” Compared to five years ago the use and trafficking of illicit drugs has increased, Musweu noted. “We did not have this problem of people going to traffic drugs, or maybe we didn’t know about it,” Musweu said. Yesterday, Monday (26 June) was the ‘International Day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. 2017-06-27Staff Report 2
