and re AFP detective assigned to HK:
2016-03-19 (updated regularly with new letters and new info about recent arrests ....scroll down for these)
Tanzania/Drugs File (Comments welcome here) See also: South African Letter
Scroll down for updates
On July
21, 2013, this website, in partnership with
media and bloggers in Tanzania, began a campaign to warn Tanzanians about the
danger of bringing drugs to Hong Kong as "drug mules". In
the months before the campaign began, at least 2 or 3 new DD (dangerous
drugs) Africans (mainly Tanzanians) were
arrested on arrival at HK airport each week, swelling the number of HK Tanzanian
inmates to more than 100. (Of these 100, a small number are from other countries, using a Tanzanian passport)
Original post of July 21: Drug Mules (received 5031 hits July 21-31 on www.v2catholic.com
, as well as thousands of other hits on Tanzania blog sites)
BETWEEN AUGUST 3, 2013 AND APRIL 1, 2014 , ONLY ONE NEW DD
TANZANIAN (a man, on Feb 17,
2014) JOINED THE PRISON POPULATION OF
HK ON ARRIVAL AT HK AIRPORT! BETWEEN AUGUST 3 AND APRIL 1, 2014, ONLY
THREE OTHER DD
COURIERS FROM THE WHOLE OF AFRICA
WERE ARRESTED AT HK AIRPORT ON ARRIVAL IN HK!
COMPARE THIS WITH BEFORE THE
CAMPAIGN WHEN AT LEAST 2 OR 3 AFRICANS (MAINLY TANZANIANS) WERE ARRESTED EACH
WEEK (....IN FACT DURING ONE WEEK OF LAST JULY, SIX
TANZANIANS WERE ARRESTED ON ARRIVAL IN THE ONE WEEK!)
THE
CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN BLESSED BY THE GOOD LORD .....AND MANY DOZENS OF MEN
AND WOMEN ARE NOW
WITH THEIR FAMILIES IN AFRICA, INSTEAD OF BEING IN PRISON IN HONG
KONG.
THE WORD HAS SPREAD: "DON'T BRING DRUGS TO HONG KONG. IT'S TOO RISKY". PLEASE HELP THIS CAMPAIGN. PLEASE LINK THIS FILE TO YOUR BLOG/FACEBOOK ETC AND ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME. THANK YOU!
In April and May 2014, another group of Tanzanians were arrested at HK airport. Game not over!
The Drug Lords are keeping up their campaign ....so must we keep up our campaign to oppose them. The Drug Lords are the new Slave Traders ....catching/fooling naive/desperate people to become drug mules. Let's stop this New Slavery!
Between May 29, 2014 and January 13, 2015, only one Tanzanian arrested at HK airport.
May 2015 - Feb 2016: Only one Tanzanian arrested at HK airport. But a number of others arrested - mainly from Nigeria and South Africa and Uganda
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Many
of the items below have also been posted on Jamii Forums and other blogs:
At http://www.jamiiforums.com enter
"wotherspoon" into "search".
(works with Internet Explorer)
Photo reports of my trip to Tanzania January 2015 to visit families of HK inmates
------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATES
March
12, 2016: Tanzania's
Global Drug Kingpin Is Unmasked
-
article mentions this website! ("letter from
prisoner...")
Feb
17, 2016: Ice
worth AUD$1 billion seized - HK/China arrests
Law enforcement
agencies have seized $1 billion of ice in the largest drug bust
of liquid methamphetamine in Australia's history. Three Hong
Kong nationals and one Chinese national have been charged
Feb 17, 2016: Woman from Dubai flight arrested at HK airport for trafficking
Feb 8, 2016: Drug bust nets HK$10m worth in New Year haul
Feb 1, 2016: 132 Nigerians waiting to die….120 on death row in China
Jan 18, 2016: Nairobi Standard: 42 Kenyan drug suspects rotting in Hong Kong cells
Dec 27: Woman from Uganda arrested HK airport for trafficking
Dec 23: All-out war declared against Tanzanian drug dealers
Dec
26: There are many dozens of Nigerian drug mules in HK prisons, but only one of
them is a ...woman!
Only one Nigerian woman in detention in HK! I was surprised to learn this
on Dec 25....when I met the good lady herself.
On the other hand, dozens of Tanzanian, Kenyan and South African women.
Dec 8: Tanzania drug barons buy freedom with heroin
October 13: Letter (in English) from a Nigerian inmate in a HK prison
Oct
4: woman arrested for trafficking
HK Customs officers have arrested a 23-year-old
woman after finding 3.8kg of cocaine worth $4.4 million in false
compartments in a suitcase she was carrying at the airport.
Oct
4: Hard
copies of SCMP articles re US socialite tricked into drug
trafficking in HK
and re AFP detective assigned to HK:
On line copies: From Fifth Avenue penthouse to Hong Kong jail: How a US socialite became an unwitting drug mule in Hong Kong and Australian crime-buster posted to HK to tackle drug menace
Sep 30: Four women arrested at HK airport for drug trafficking
Sep 25: Letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
Sep 21: Two Filipino women arrested at HK airport - drugs in luggage (video)
Sep 19: Letter (in Swahili) from Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
Aug 17: Powerful South African media documentary about South Africans locked up abroad - and SA government's heartless refusal to make Prison Transfer Agreements with other nations. Has lessons for all nations, especially re people tricked into being drug mules
Aug
17: Open
letter to South African parliament
- from Belgian doctor in Thailand, distressed
at deteriorating condition of inmates in Thai prisons
Aug 17: The International Organization for Migration says that people forced/tricked into drug trafficking should be reclassified as "victims of human trafficking". This has huge ramifications.
Aug 17: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has produced Handbook on the international transfer of sentenced persons
August
12: Deadly cheap heroin taking its toll on people of Zanzibar
"Nzowa
has headed the Tanzania anti-drug unit for a decade, refuses to
retire, and is at the top of every drug lord’s hit list....One
unlikely informant turned out to be John
Wotherspoon, a Catholic
priest living in Hong Kong, who noticed the increasing amount of
Tanzanian men jailed in Hong Kong for smuggling"
August:
ABC
TV 7.30 Report from Australia
- about elderly and vulnerable people (including several inmates in HK whom I regularly visit)
being duped by African drug gangs into being drug
mules
July
14: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
(... sad story of a female drug mule's medical
condition...)
(This letter got more than 800
views and 18 comments when posted on Jamii Forums)
June
9, 2015: I went to Macau Prison which has about a dozen Tanzanians
....but in the last year ...not one new one...God is Good!
June 10: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
June 1: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
June
7: Two
Female Nigerian Drug Traffickers Busted on Their Way to China
(report is not so clear....presume/hope women were arrested in Nigeria ....and
no "noose" in China ...rather, injection or bullet)
May 28: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
May 23: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
May 8, 2015: NZ/Australia man faces death sentence in China
May 8: Letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
May 2, 2015: Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
April 22, 2015: Report in Swahili about Morris Sekwao, a Nigerian living in Tanzania, who was caught at Nigeria Airport, coming from Dar Es Salaam, with 25 kgs (!) of drugs. A famous guy in Tz.
April 8, 2015: South African woman arrested at HK airport for drug trafficking
March 30: Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
March 26, 2015: Tanzania MPs want life imprisonment for drug kingpins (... at least one of whom is an MP!)
2015-03-26
Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison:
- a drug trafficker names and shames
his Drug Lord, Kiboko, and asks the authorities to arrest Kiboko in Tanzania
2015-03-19
Three Africans acquitted of HK drug trafficking charge
(c.f.
Feb 13 report, below, re SA cop..)
March
12, 2015: Elderly
foreigners being tricked into smuggling drugs out of HK
- all are in detention, facing long sentences, unlike Australia,
- c.f.
A difference between Hong Kong and Australia
March
14, 2015: Singapore
hangs two convicted drug dealers
(for 15 grams of heroin ....c.f. people bringing 1 or more
kilos to HK!)
March 3, 2015: Tanzania's Mwanachi paper kindly had six reports about my visit to Tz in January. But a Mwanachi article of March 3 has unfortunately got a few facts wrong. Article, in Swahili, says 8 Tanzanian women were arrested recently at HK airport. Not true. Only one in past 11 months (on Feb 18). Seems that the arrests were made in China. (Very sad if true, because of death penalty)
March 1, 2015: My latest audio file sent to Clouds Media in Tanzania, to discourage people from drug trafficking to HK
It's
not just Africans who get long sentences in HK:
Feb
14, 2015: HK
drug courier, 15, gets nine years in prison
Feb 13, 2015: South African cop held in HK for drug smuggling (but report inaccurate: arrested at HK-China border, not at airport)
Feb 13, 2015: Tanzanian police seize 40 kg of heroin, arrest two foreigners
Feb
8, 2015: No bail to
notorious Tanzanian drug dealer - article
mentions letter published on v2catholic.com
(date in article should be 2013, not 2002)
(since
many Africans still don't know that Indonesia has the death penalty)
Feb 4, 2015: Execution
Island: Where drug traffickers are executed in Indonesia
- see the words of my Oblate confrere Fr Charlie "it takes 7 or 8
minutes for prisoners to die after beeing shot by firing
squad" c.f.
Priest relives firing squad deaths for court
Jan
29, 2015 Email from a Jamii Forum friend:
Some
at Jamii Forums have recommend you to visit a place locally called
Kinondoni kwa Manyanya. It is a local area situated at Kinondoni District
in Dar Es Salaam. This is a place where most most drugs are sold publicly.
It is also a place where you will be able to see most drug users and how
they have been affected by the use of drugs, bse in every 10 people there,
four of them have been affected by the use of drugs. There
is a bus stop there sometimes you may find a lot of drug users sitting
there with nothing to do. I should also remind you that one of the
politicians who was named as a drug lord in a letter you published on your
website is a member of parliament representing Kinondoni constituency.
Jan 27, 2015: HK police arrest 6 African asylum seekers, seize illegal drugs and US$730000 cash
Jan 27, 2015 ‘drug kingpin’ Wong Chi-ping forced to burn meth haul in Indonesia (+ death penalty? - see this report)
Jan 24, 2015: This Tanzania Jumamosi article (in Swahili) has many references to China
Six executed in Indonesia Foreigners from Brazil, Malawi, Nigeria, Vietnam and the Netherlands shot dead, as well as an Indonesian woman. 40 to 50 people die each day from using drugs in Indonesia.
January 6 to Jan 19: Five articles about my Africa trip and its topics in Tanzania's number one paper "Mwananchi", one article a front page headline, the four others highlighted on front page. Many thanks Team Mwananchi: (not sure why my surname gained an extra "o"!)
2015-01-14 Strong comment by reader re my trip to Tanzania
Jan 10, 2015: Big Drug Lord - Gwiji - arrested in Tanzania
Dec
22: Letter in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison:
- message to drug mules: 5 good
reasons to abort your mission
Dec
21: Letter
in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- stop the insanity of drug-trafficking to China, HK, Macau
Dec
15: Video:
South
African drug mules in foreign jails may never return home
3,000 South Africans are estimated to be serving time
in foreign jails – almost all of them for drug-related crimes
Dec 12: 63 drug-trafficking foreigners arrested by Guangzhou customs officials this year. Don't they know that China has the death penalty for drugs? Foreigner in this report is from Australia, but no doubt the majority of the 63 are, sadly, from Africa.
Nov
23: Letter in English from a Nigerian inmate in a HK prison
- no African food for 10
years while in prison!
Nov
22: Letter
in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
re
the way drug lords trick people into being drug mules ...e.g. by employing
several on the same plane, without letting the several know each other, in the
hope that one of the group will evade customs
Nov
21: Letter
(in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
-
re why no government probe against known drug lords?
Nov
9: Letter
(in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
re African passport holders subject to extra
scrutiny because of Ebola
Nov
2: Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
re Tanzanian ambassador Mr Shimbo's
visit to HK
Comment posted Oct 28 on v2catholic.com at
this link (comment no. 28):
It is claimed that the arrest of
Chonji has to do with the son of the Tanzania’s ambassador in China,
the one who threatened the Tanzanian prisoners in Hong Kong prisons to
stop writing the letters you publish on this website. It is claimed that
the ambassador’s son is also involved in this drug business. The son
was given by Chonji drugs worth Tsh. 250 million to sell but later
informed Chonji that the drugs had been lost, or found by the
authorities, which Chonji didn’t believe. So Chonji arranged for some
guys to rape him. His father responded, leading to the arrest of Chonji
and others. This is what has been claimed here
Oct
26: New
letter in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
"Drug trafficking is a
national disaster"
Oct
23: Stand-off pits drug dealers, Dar police
- Chonji arrested!
Notice how Chonji's
name is on this
page of very
first letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison posted on this
website! Further verification of accuracy of letter!
Oct
19: Letter
in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
"Drug trafficking into Hong Kong is a suicide mission"
Oct 10: Letter in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison commenting on South China Morning Post article (see below) re Tz inmate in HK claiming to have been threatened by Tz ambassador to China ....for writing letters for this website
Sep 30: The Citizen has published a report about South China Morning Post article on Tanzanian inmates in HK being threatened by the Tanzanian ambassador. Jamii Forums has a post in Swahili about this. Swahili post has had 9,800 views!
2014-09-28
Article in HK South China Morning Post: (click
to enlarge)
2014-09-22 Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison - in response to publication by Tz government of 403 Tanzanians in prisons overseas
2014-09-16
Letter
in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- in response to publication by Tz government of names
of 250 drug traffickers in prison in Tanzania
2014-09-10 Letter in English from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison - in response to publication by Tz government of names of all Tz inmates in overseas prisons
There
are 400 Tanzanians in overseas prisons on drug trafficking charges
- figure is at end of this
article which is mistaken in saying there is a death penalty in HK
and Macau
2014-08-18
Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- commenting on this story:
Tanzania President: My son was not arrested in China for drug trafficking
2014-08-09:
Tanzania
President: My son was not arrested in China for drug trafficking
(But Tanzanian inmates in HK
prisons say that the son is a Drug Lord - see letters below)
2014-08-12:
New letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
- asking TZ government to
muscle up their policy enforcement
2014-07-24:
Letter (in Swahili with English summary) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong
prison
- warning people about the drug
enforcers
2014-07-15:
New
letter
(in Swahili with English summary) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
- naming and shaming more drug barons
2014-06-28:
New letter (in Swahili & English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
-
calling on the religious community to do more to help the poor in Tanzania
2014-06-27:
New
letter (in Swahili)
from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
-
calling for better airport security to fight the Drug Lords
2014-06-26:
400 young Tanzanian drug mules in foreign prisons
(Of the more than 100 Tanzanian inmates in HK prisons, I'm not aware of anyone under 21 years old ....so the term "youth" is not clear for me ....nor is the figure "18 in
HK")
2014-06-15 Nigerian arrested at Tanzania airport had record amount of drugs
2014-06-14 Two drug mules arrested at Hong Kong airport
2014-06-11
Letter (in English) from a South African inmate in a HK prison
- Drug Lords are like lions; drug mules are like birds.
Writer was a Drug Lord
2014-06-07 Letter (in Swahili, with English summary) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison - asking Tanzanian Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Godfrey Nzowa, to take action against the well known Drug Lord Kiboko, who is responsible for quite a number of drug mules recently arrested at Hong Kong airport
2014-05-28 Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
2014-05-25 Tanzania: Sh6bn drugs seized in 2-and-half years
2014-05-23 See my comment at this drug story in The Citizen
2014-05-18 Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
|
2014-05-12 |
2014-05-11:
Letter
(in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison:
"I am deeply disturbed about drug
trafficking in our nation. Recent arrests show that people are still ignorant of
bringing drugs to China, Hong Kong and Macau"
2014-05-06:
Tanzanian
held over Sh500bn heroin haul
A Tanzanian national is among suspects seized over the record $312
million (about Sh500 billion) heroin intercepted by an Australian navy
ship last month off the Kenyan coast
2014-05-05:
Letter
(in English)
from a Tanzanian mother serving 16 years in a Hong Kong prison,
asking Tanzanian President to agree to her transfer to Tanzania
2014-04-27
Letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- explaining the reasons for this campaign by inmates
April
25, 2014: See my April 25 post on Jamii Forums:
Australian
navy seizes $290 million of heroin from boat off Kenya coast + new Tz mules in
HK
April
25, 2014: Tanzania President (whose son is a drug lord?) calling
for tighter airport security
2014-04-13
Letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- an
appeal to the Tanzanian Ambassador in Beijing for a repatriation agreement
between Tanzania and China
2014-04-07:
First
attempt as drug courier lands Kenyan mother in a Hong Kong jail
(I met this dear lady many times in HK's Lo Wu
Prison)
Website copy of this story: 01
02
2014-04-04
Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
2014-04-03
An open letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania
from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
2014-04-01
New letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
- again
warning of the danger of drug trafficking to China, HK, Macau
2014-03-30: Information has it that the Number One Drug African Drug Lord - "Omari" - is currently in Guangzhou. He is in charge of all operations in Guangdong, HK and Macau ....having taken over this post after the previous Number One returned to Africa (where he was recently arrested)
2014-04-29: Very
disturbing email from a reader in Tanzania: (re Shikuba):
Hi Rev John!
Please be informed (may be you have already got some information)
that the mentioned drug dealer (Ali Khatibu Haji, popularly known
as Shikuba) who is in custody MAY BECOME FREE SOON!. This is
because there is A VERY VERY BIG EFFORT from the state house
(Tanzanian's president office) trying to intervene the matter and
make sure the man is free. We had this news in some of our local
papers. It seems the ''force'' from the state house is inevitable
and it is a matter of time the guy will be a free man!
2014-03-23
New letter in Swahili (with English summary) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong
Kong prison - re the capture of Shikuba
South China Morning Post report on this
website's campaign re drug mules from Africa with
SCMP video
report (Chinese
report in Ming Pao newspaper)
(SCMP hardcopy 01
02) Swahili
translation (God bless kind translator!)
Saved copy of Swahili translation
2014-03-20
Another
"Big Fish" caught at Tanzania's International Airport
- well done!
2014-03-11
New letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
Drug free Tanzania is possible
2014-03-03:
Top drug baron
nabbed at Tanzania's Dar airport
(This guy was No. 1 Man in HK, Macau and China ...a very big fish. Next
target, his successor: Omari)
2014-02-28:
New letter (in English) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
Mr.
Ridhiwani Kikwete, the beloved son of our honourable President is among
several high ranked Tanzanian figures who have been blocked from entering
the United States, because he is a top Drug Lord.
RK's profile
(he's such a brilliant lawyer that he has become a millionaire in only 5
years....but....money from law or drugs???)
2014-02-27:
West
African drug trafficker arrested in Hong Kong
- scroll down for video report in Chinese press (can't find
in English press).
Not arrested on arrival; was already in HK
2014-02-25
New letter ( in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
2014-02-18:
letter in English from an African inmate in a Hong Kong Prison
-
"Life in the Fast Lane"
2014-02-16:
A new letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
-
imploring Tanzanians to be careful of Drug Barons
2014-01-23 Tanzania: Drug traffickers at sea a new challenge
2014-01-17: More details about Tanzanian woman arrested intending to get plane to Macau
2014-01-15: A new comment at Tanzania file has info re alleged drug lords Mwigulu, Nchimbi, Ridhiwani & Kapuya
2014-01-09
Another Tanzanian "stomach" drug courier arrested
- was booked to fly to Macau
(...drug lords still trying to get drugs into China/HK....this website's
campaign needs to continue!)
2013-12-31 Article in The Citizen:
How
drug trafficking tainted Tanzanian's clean image in 2013
The second half of 2013 has seen a heightened war against drug
trafficking, thanks to a letter by a young Tanzanian jailed in Hong Kong that
renewed public pressure for authorities to act.
(and see comment about HK chaplain and
www.v2catholic.com
by Richard)
2013-12-30
Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
In a separate note to me, the
inmate says "Because of recent
happenings ....arrests in Tanzania, Macau and China, showing the Drug Lords are
still up to their old tricks ....we need to keep up the campaign. In my new
letter I am imploring the people of Africa to be more vigilant against the drug
kingpins and their operatives and recruiters"
2013-12-29
Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
This
new letter continues the campaign to warn people about the danger of being a
"drug mule"
Dec 19: Tanzanian
woman arrested Macau - 1.1 kilograms pellets of Heroin in her body. Photos
of woman and the pellets. She was aiming to go to China. (Is she an African
Tanzanian? - c.f. photo ...brown hair)
See my post about this story at
Jamii Forums - has had 1,600 views
2013-12-22
Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
This new letter is similar to previous letters, aiming to create more awareness
of the risks involved in trafficking to Hong Kong & China. The letter also
mentions the names of the mastermind and his subordinate.
My post about this letter at Jamii
Forums had more than 800 views before being closed to comments + counting of
number of views (...maybe hacked? ...since original post is still there) - see this
Print Screen image (third post from
top)
Dec
19: Tanzanian
man with 83 heroin capsules in stomach arrested at Dar es Salaam airport
This confirms what I've heard from inmates in HK: Drug Lords are trying to get
drug mules to fly direct to China (...because extremely high chance of arrest +
long prison sentence in HK) ....and several Tanzanian drug mules have recently
been arrested in China...and ....China has death penalty!
Dec
15: Two
women arrested at Dar es Salaam airport
Women were heading to Hong Kong! (didn't they know
that's not a good idea?!). One woman had 122 capsules removed from her
stomach - a record for a woman. Drug lords back
to their old tricks: MEN know it's dangerous, so use WOMEN who may not be so
informed, or may be more desperate for money for their families
Dec 14: Drugs: act tough, act now (The Citizen)
Nov
18: A new letter (in Swahili)from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
Nov
17: A new letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
This
letter names two prominent drug lords, names the businesses they run as fronts,
and gives their mobile numbers!
This letter also answers the charge that previous letters were not
genuine:
if previous letters were not genuine, how come drug lords are making
threatening phone calls to families of inmates alleged to have provided
material for this website?!
Nov 11: Swahili article in Sema Usikike about HK Tanzanian inmates' families - Describing how drug lords are threatening the families of HK inmates alleged to have provided letters for this website
Nov
10: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
This letter names
8 prominent drug lords, and calls on the
head of the anti-narcotics unit, Assistant Commissioner of Police Godfrey Nzowa,
to publish on-line the photos of this D8
Nov 7 - Drugs: clean courts needed (Editorial from The Citizen)
November 3: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison This letter encourages people to name and shame "the big fish". If you have information, give it to the authorities. If you are a business person coming from Tanzania to HK and you have information about "big fish", please give that info to the police in HK
Oct
27: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
-
to help people better understand the harm of drug trafficking
Oct
26: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
- re Tanzania, China, Macau, Hong Kong ....and drugs
Oct
20: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
Calling on the the head of the anti-narcotics unit, Assistant Commissioner of
Police Godfrey Nzowa,
to take stronger action against drug lords
Oct
9: Letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Prison
- written just after he was sentenced. In a separate note he said "this letter will educate more people
and even educate the Tanzania government".
Theme of letter: what's needed: not new drug laws, but
the observance of laws
Oct
3: Another letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
Let’s
use our Proxy Votes - a reply to
You’re on your own, (Tanzanian President) tells drug mules seized abroad
Sep
29: A new letter from a Tanzanian inmate
in a Hong Kong prison:
Avoid drug trafficking by "the reverence of
God"
Sep
24: A new Swahili
letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
calling for not just the little fish, but the big fish
- the drug barons, the 100 names - to be punished with the same justice as the
little fish
Sep
19: You’re
on your own, (Tanzanian President) tells drug mules seized abroad
See comment supporting John W's comment
Sep
18: New letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
Our
Struggle - "Strategy for Change" -
really beautiful, like something Mandela or Gandhi would write.
(Tanzania has a Mandela in a HK prison?!)
September
12: New
letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison:
Radical
measures needed to tackle the wanton corruption in Tanzania's government
Sep 11: This article of a Tanzanian blogger is in Swahili, but has a "translate to English" button. Article uses much material from v2catholic article Drug Mules of July 21, supporting the call to fight the drug trade
Sep
8: New
agency to fight narcotics
(see comment from Richard)
September
5: New letter from a Tanzanian inmate in Hong Kong:
An open letter to the Minister of State
in the Prime Minister’s Office Mr. Willian Lukuvi
Re: Your "On list of Drug Barons" (a
copy of which was given to the inmate)
Tanzania
rolls out tough measures against drug smuggling
This article shows how lax Tanzania is in fighting the drug problem
Tanzania's
JNIA fitted with new detection equipment
This article mentions Tanzanian man facing 40 years in a US prison
Tanzania:
The ideal destination for drug gangs
Because of unprotected coastline plus inadequate customs controls and
cross-border co-operation, as well as weak criminal justice systems
Tanzania's
'mules' ply Johannesburg streets
Barely a quarter of Tanzanians in South Africa have legal jobs and many are
drug dealers
Sep 2: Tanzanians arrested in Kenya - a big bust
Record
number of drug cases for hearing during Tanzania High Court session
Corruption and influence peddling by highly placed individuals have been cited
as one factor that frustrates the war against traffickers
During
August, no male Tanzanian
"drug mules" were arrested in Hong Kong. Previously several
were being arrested each week. Five weeks ago, six were arrested in one
week. This website's campaign, supported by Tanzanian media and bloggers,
to warn about the dangers of bringing drugs to HK, has been blessed by the
Good Lord.
What about other countries? Has any other country noticed that
Tanzanian "mules" have stopped arriving? If you have any
information, please email me: jdwomi@gmail.com
September
1: Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in Hong Kong:
New Era: A Drug Free
Aug
31: From a Tanzanian inmate in
a Hong Kong prison
- in Swahili and English: An open letter to
the President
Suggestion from Tanzanian inmates in HK prisons: stop people from other parts of Africa obtaining Tanzanian passports (with false names). At the moment, because of corruption in Tanzania, it's easy to obtain a Tanzanian passport in order to be a "drug mule"
Bribery and corruption in Tanzania
Aug
29: HK South
China Morning Post:
Drug
mules must find no welcome in HK
Aug
28: The Citizen:
You
are on list of drug barons, MPs told
(see comment from John W)
Aug
23: Tanzania:
Noose Tightened Over Drugs ((words...or actions?...))
Aug 23: Drug smuggling (excellent article by Netherlands Embassy in Tanzania)
Aug 22: Desperate Tanzanian youth getting more entangled in drugs - makes reference to July 21 article Drug Mules on v2catholic.com
Aug
21: Four
Tanzania airport officials sacked on suspicion of drug trafficking
(and see the comment)
August
20: The Citizen
(Tanzania)
We’ve
to win drugs war!
August
20:
Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong are suggesting that
HK should require all visitors from Tanzania to obtain a visa ....because
a visa requires time and information ....and this would make it more
difficult for drug lords in Tanzania to trick simple village people into
becoming drug mules. City people now not so easy to trick ...they know
about long prison sentences in HK...but village people not so savvy
....and easier to persuade with lines like "if you get caught, you'll
only get 3-4 years" ...so without the need for a visa, village people
are persuaded today to do the job and tomorrow they're on a plane to
HK....and the following day are in prison for maybe 20 years
2013-08-19
Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
‘DRUG
TRAFFICKING’ - A national problem (...a
reflection on paying the price for speaking out...)
August
17: Drug
trafficking takes tolls on Tanzanians (in HK)
This article from Tanzania's The Citizen (in
its ongoing anti-drug campaign) quotes extensively from v2catholic.com
August
16, 2013: Tanzania minister:
I’ll name drug lords today
August
16: Two
days ago, during Typhoon Signal No. 8, I had lunch at Chung
King Mansions (after buying some items for prison inmates). At table
next to me where two men from Tanzania...which country is very dear to my
heart at the moment...200 Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong...lots of items
on this website and sites in Tanzania re the 200. One of the two men
arrived in HK a week ago. I asked him what was it like coming through HK
airport with a Tanzanian passport. He said they searched him from top to
toe, x-rayed him, then made him take some medicine which caused him to defecate
(...many "drug mules" have the drugs in their stomach, in
plastic containers ..double condoms..). No drugs were present, so HK
customs staff said "sorry about that ...you can go now".
Hope the word goes out to potential drug mules:
HK will give you the S _ I _ S
! Which is sad news for
genuine travellers
August
13, 2013: Tanzania's The Citizen has an
excellent new article:
Drugs: Together we’ll win
2013-08-13
Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison: (in Swahili & English)
President
Kikwete's anti-narcotic campaign just for appearances
Frank
Makange Blog: Jamhuri
Newspaper published 255 names of people said to be engaging in drug trafficking.
The list is HERE
August
12, 2013: Drugs:
No teamwork, says Tanzania CAA director (The
Citizen)
August
12, 2013 Tanzania The
Citizen report: Confession
of a drug trafficker.
Following a leaked letter (posted on www.v2catholic.com)
by a Tanzanian drug courier imprisoned in Hong Kong in which he listed reported
drug barons and warned youth against joining the trade, The
Citizen on Sunday traced Juma who gave
an account of how youth were recruited and hooked into the trade
August
12, 2013: The Citizen editorial:
We
must not become a nation of drug dealers
August
11: When
drug trade and consumption threaten to become national disaster
(Tanzania IPP Media)
But most critics contend that the big fish behind
the trafficking syndicates remain scot free as corrupt law enforcers get
compromised by the former.
August
11, 2013: Tanzanian
farmers and drug dealers
With so much media coverage about the drug issue in recent weeks, the
silence of the government is deafening
August
11 Excellent new
article from Tanzania's The
Citizen which is pursuing the drugs
story:
Big
cloud hangs over drug cases (..how
do you spell "corruption"?...)
August
11 The
Citizen
confirming claims of HK inmates:
Nzowa
sheds light on drug barons
August
11, 2013: Letter from Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
Anti-narcotic
war: Are Politicians Real? (In Swahili & English)
August
10, 2013: EDITORIAL
: The reputation of our airports in jeopardy
(The Citizen)
August 9, 2013: Letters from inmates in Hong Kong prison
August
7, 2013: Transport minister blasts airport security standard
"Our airport has become a free gateway for drug traffickers"
(this article makes reference to July 21 article Drug
Mules
August
5, 2013: Let Us Intensify War On Drug Peddling (Part One)
(see comment from jw)
An article that seems to have been encouraged by article on v2catholic: Drug
Mules
(note: there are 200 Tanzanians in HK prisons ....so the world figure must
be many times that)
August
2, 2013: Tanzania on the spot over anti-narcotics war
(refers to July 21 article Drug
Mules)
August
1: Political will to deal with drug kingpins ‘is lacking’ - see
comments
(refers to July 21 article Drug
Mules)
August
1, 2012: Pregnant women used to smuggle drugs
(to avoid detection by airport scanners)
July
31, 2013: Hong
Kong customs detects three drug trafficking cases in one day (July 25)
- two of them men from Tanzania
Three
of many blogs which have re-posted
Drug Mules
(from v2catholic.com of July 21, 2013):
Frank
Makange Hassbaby
Udakuspecially
(...the more bloggers who re-post, the better...to spread the message that bringing drugs to
Hong Kong means a long prison sentence)
July 21, 2013: Drug Mules (received 5031 hits July 21-31 on www.v2catholic.com )
July 6, 2013: Meeting in Hong Kong: Ambassador Philip S. Marmo and Counsellor Edmund Juma Kitokezi from the Beijing Embassy of Tanzania
---------------
Jamii Forum posts:
Graphic photos of dead African mule being opened up
--------
2012-03-14:
Langa - Breaking the silence on drugs in Tanzania
Langa’s work and example could not be more needed and
important. The silence that hangs over drug-use in Tanzania needs to be broken.
If we are to have any chance of preventing and responding to this ever growing
problem, we need to listen to, not shun the heroic stories of those who have
battled this aggressive addiction and who have recovered
President
Kikwete’s son - heat back on re graft accusations
This 2011 article has relevance in 2013, since HK inmates (and some Tanzanian
bloggers) say the president's son is involved in drug trafficking.
To access this article, put into Google:
"president kikwete's son heat back on graft
accusations"
Tanzania
Journalists failing their nation
- re death of anti-drug campaigner Amina Chifupa (..Hong
Kong Tanzanian inmates say her death resulted from her anti-narcotics
campaign...inmates say her husband was/is involved in drug trafficking
--------------
See also: Articles from Lonely Planet's Tanzania
And: Put "Africa" into Google search at top of this page
