By Takunda Mandura
Rampart smuggling of prescription drugs into Zimbabwe is exposing people to a myriad of unforeseen health complications.
An investigation conducted by this reporter since January 2023 shows that various prescription drugs are being smuggled from countries neighboring Zimbabwe and this is largely driven by the quick availability of the greenback as well as a readily available market.
Various sources contacted by this reporter revealed that the network of prescription drugs mules or smuggles comprise of corrupt border control officials, police officers, and vendors bringing drugs into Zimbabwe through the porous borders has resulted in some drugs ending up in the healthy sector.
The smugglers are given various names though the popular ones are amagumaguma / magumaguma. Smuggling is mainly facilitated by cross-border bus crews who are times paid a minimum of $20 per consignment, the bigger consignment and the more dangerous the drugs are, the more money it attracts.
When the consignments are being done in containers, the foreign entities give false declarations to avoid paying correct duties.
Pharmaceutical drugs are cheaper and available in Zambia. Because they are on high demand in Zimbabwe but expensive to import through formal channels, Pharmaceutical companies in Zimbabwe contract smugglers to supply drugs, medicines, and vaccines because they are cheaper in Zambia.
The smugglers capitalize on the lack of scanners and equipment that detect small items at the border posts while banking on corruption involving officials at the designated ports of entry.
Laiza Rangarire, a cross-border trader attest to the lack of a modern system to detect their illegal activities.
“It’s only that we lack proper technology we would not be smuggling like what we are doing, plus everyone is hungry every man has a price,” she says boastfully.
Apart from buses, the trafficking ring also uses small private vehicles to smuggle contraband into the country. Private vehicles from Tanzania and haulage trucks are part of the smuggling ring from Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Uganda-passing into Zimbabwe through the Chirundu border post and various ports of entry.
Some have resorted to the use of canoes to bring their cargo across the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers.
Weak regulations and enforcement in both countries are some of the reasons why medicinal drugs, which are bought mostly from Indian-owned pharmacies in Lusaka, are finding their way onto the streets of Harare and other cities, while others are sold to pharmacies or private hospitals.
Esnath Macha a resident in Karo, 200km away from Harare has been a victim of the drug shortages at the local general hospital as she was referred to a local private institution for medication.
“I was told to go to a hospital only to see the same doctor who had referred me attending me, in the general hospital I was told that they were no medicine, but the medicine was only availed after I paid $20 to the nurse and I was given the medication, they were no receipt issued,” she said.
A nurse at the Karoi General Hospital confirmed sometimes they make a deliberate move to lower patient institutions in connivance with doctors.
“We know that people will be desperate to get well but sometimes we tell them that private facilities are the best so we collect some money from the doctor for referral as they are the same doctors who are here but they are not earning enough, so we capitalise from the patients although it is against our oath of service,” said a nurse.
Contacted for comment Donald Mujiri spokesperson othe of the Ministry of Health and Child Care regarding the issue of medicines kickbacks as criminal activity, he said stern Disciplinary action is being taken in addition to involving security agencies
Despite hospital confirmed various reports of drug shortages in the government hospital, there are issues of kickbacks in which patients are referred to private institutions or are treated differently when they pay a stipend to the rouge medical person.
He we on to say referrals to private institutions are” not allowed. It’s ethically and morally wrong. Both institutional and Medical disciplinary measures are taken,” said Mujiri.
Several negative health effects arise from buying medicines from these informal markets, depending on the products being purchased. These products are mostly unregistered medicines, which means that the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) would not have assessed them to ensure they are safe, of good quality or efficacious” revealed Davidson Katiyo Public Relation Officer for MCAZ.
Some pharmacies sell drugs without a prescription despite the law forcing them to sell some medicines with presciptions .
Despite a lack of formal studies and organized information from parts of Asia and Africa, there are numerous reports of increased prescription abuse from those parts of the world notes the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
According to the UNODC, opioids, depressants and stimulants are the top prescription drugs abused across the world.
Some of commonly inquired drugs are depressants, also referred to as sedatives or tranquilizers.
Depressants include barbiturates, such as Nembutal (pentobarbital sodium), and benzodiazepines, such as Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam).
Types of drugs smuggled
The drugs being smuggled include Co-trimoxazole, Brufen, Pethidine, Azithromycin, Tenoric-50, Depo-Provera, Doxycycline, Benzylpenicillin Broncleer, comblimodus, diclofenac tablets, Depo provera, doxycycline, and Diazepam, various cough syrups among others.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), trafficked medical products kill almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year.
The transnational organised crime threat assessment also found that as many as 267 000 deaths per year in the region were linked to falsified and substandard anti-malarial medicines.
In addition, up to 169 271 are linked to falsified and substandard antibiotics used to treat severe pneumonia in children.
The 2022 UN World Drug Report, shows Africa has increased levels of cocaine trafficking, among other drugs.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that caring for people who have used falsified or substandard medical products for malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa costs between $12 million to $44.7 million every year.
Laws governing drugs
“As MCAZ, we work with the Zimbabwe Republic Police CID Narcotics and Drugs section, ZIMRA, health port officials, and other law enforcement agents to make sure that we curb the issue of smuggling of medicines,” said Katiyo.
The country has harsh laws and policies on drug trafficking and uses under the Criminal Law Code and Dangerous Drugs Act, but the vice is growing, and the syndicates are becoming more sophisticated as they bribe various government agents in line for enforcement.
In Zimbabwe, the law stipulates that no person shall import into, or export from the country any registered medicine otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of a permit issued by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), according to the Medicines and Allied Substances Control (Import and Export of Medicines) (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 (SI No 99 of 2017).
A 2020 report by Parliament’s portfolio committee on Defence, home affairs and security services on the status of border posts in Zimbabwe disclosed that a lack of equipment to detect the smuggling of goods and corruption was fueling smuggling at the border posts.
“The committee also learnt that the Zimbabwe Republic Police in its quest to prevent and detect smuggling of goods does not have the expertise to monitor and interpret scan images,” it reads.
According to statistics presented to the portfolio committee on Defence, home affairs and security services, out of a total of 186 immigration officials who were implicated in corruption in 2020, 177 were convicted and only nine were acquitted.
African Network on Debt and Development, (AFRODAD) (2023) postulates that illicit drug trafficking reveals that due to globalization the influx of Chinese and Nigerians in Sub-Saharan Africa has contributed to the transportation of illicit drugs- a lucrative business worth billions yet affecting the growing generation through addictions.
Efforts to curb drug abuse
Zimbabwe’s spending on health care increased during the pandemic to 13% of the national budget pushing it closer to the 15% recommended by the 2001 Abuja Declaration by African Union member states.
As part of efforts to respond to border crime, Zimbabwe’s home affairs ministry announced it was investing in drones to monitor illegal border activity that is costing the country millions in lost revenue.
Zimbabwe Republic Police reports that from January 2023 to date, the police have arrested more than 7 000 suspects for drug-related offences. Within the same period 1 100 kilograms of dagga plants; cocaine, bottles of Bronclear syrup, crystal meth, elphedrine, histalix, skin-lightening creams and other unregistered medicines were recovered. These drugs have already incepted into the border and are peddled in communities by drug lords who supply illicit drugs to youths and adults.
Registering Process Drugs
For a medicine to be registered in Zimbabwe it would have gone through a rigorous registration process. MCAZ Licencing and Enforcement Division conducts routine inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to verify compliance with the World Health Organization’s current good manufacturing practice guidelines.
According to the Medicines and Controlled Substances Act, only licensed persons are allowed to sell registered medicines from licensed premises.
Nearly at every marketplace, town, and city pavement, various drugs are being sold in the open.
According to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), prescription drugs as a category moved up to second on the list of the most abused and trafficked types of drugs in the world. Cannabis remained the most abused and trafficked category.
Apart from buses, the trafficking ring also uses small private vehicles to smuggle contraband into the country.
Private vehicles and haulage trucks are part of the smuggling ring from several countries which pass through the Chirundu border post and various ports of entry.
Some have resorted to the use of canoes to bring their cargo across the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers.
Weak regulations and enforcement in both countries are some of the reasons why medicinal drugs, which are bought mostly from Indian-owned pharmacies in Lusaka, are finding their way onto the streets of Harare and other cities, while others are sold to pharmacies or private hospitals.
Esnath Macha a resident in Karo, 200km away from Harare has been a victim of the drug shortages at the local general hospital as she was referred to a local private institution for medication.
“I was told to go to a hospital only to see the same doctor who had referred me attending me, in the general hospital I was told that they were no medicine, but the medicine was only availed after I paid $20 to the nurse and I was given the medication, they were no receipt issued,” she said.
A nurse at the Karoi General Hospital confirmed sometimes they make a deliberate move to lower patient institutions in connivance with doctors.
“We know that people will be desperate to get well but sometimes we tell them that private facilities are the best so we collect some money from the doctor for referral as they are the same doctors who are here but they are not earning enough, so we capitalise from the patients although it is against our oath of service,” said a nurse.
Contacted for comment Donald Mujiri spokesperson othe of the Ministry of Health and Child Care regarding the issue of medicines kickbacks as criminal activity, he said stern Disciplinary action is being taken in addition to involving security agencies
Despite hospital confirmed various reports of drug shortages in the government hospital, there are issues of kickbacks in which patients are referred to private institutions or are treated differently when they pay a stipend to the rouge medical person.
He we on to say referrals to private institutions are” not allowed. It’s ethically and morally wrong. Both institutional and Medical disciplinary measures are taken,” said Mujiri.
Several negative health effects arise from buying medicines from these informal markets, depending on the products being purchased. These products are mostly unregistered medicines, which means that the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) would not have assessed them to ensure they are safe, of good quality or efficacious” revealed Davidson Katiyo Public Relation Officer for MCAZ.
Types of drugs smuggled
The drugs being smuggled include Co-trimoxazole, Brufen, Pethidine, Azithromycin, Tenoric-50, Depo-Provera, Doxycycline, Benzylpenicillin Broncleer, comblimodus, diclofenac tablets, Depo provera, doxycycline, and Diazepam, various cough syrups among others.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), trafficked medical products kill almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year.
The transnational organised crime threat assessment also found that as many as 267 000 deaths per year in the region were linked to falsified and substandard anti-malarial medicines.
In addition, up to 169 271 are linked to falsified and substandard antibiotics used to treat severe pneumonia in children.
The 2022 UN World Drug Report, shows Africa has increased levels of cocaine trafficking, among other drugs.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that caring for people who have used falsified or substandard medical products for malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa costs between $12 million to $44.7 million every year.
Laws governing drugs
“As MCAZ, we work with the Zimbabwe Republic Police CID Narcotics and Drugs section, ZIMRA, health port officials, and other law enforcement agents to make sure that we curb the issue of smuggling of medicines,” said Katiyo.
The country has harsh laws and policies on drug trafficking and uses under the Criminal Law Code and Dangerous Drugs Act, but the vice is growing, and the syndicates are becoming more sophisticated as they bribe various government agents in line for enforcement.
In Zimbabwe, the law stipulates that no person shall import into, or export from the country any registered medicine otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of a permit issued by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), according to the Medicines and Allied Substances Control (Import and Export of Medicines) (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 (SI No 99 of 2017).
A 2020 report by Parliament’s portfolio committee on Defence, home affairs, and security services on the status of border posts in Zimbabwe disclosed that a lack of equipment to detect the smuggling of goods and corruption was fuelling smuggling at the border posts.
“The committee also learned that the Zimbabwe Republic Police in its quest to prevent and detect smuggling of goods does not have the expertise to monitor and interpret scan images,” it reads.
According to statistics presented to the portfolio committee on Defence, home affairs, and security services, out of a total of 186 immigration officials who were implicated in corruption in 2020, 177 were convicted and only nine were acquitted.
African Network on Debt and Development, (AFRODAD) (2023) postulates that illicit drug trafficking reveals that due to globalization the influx of Chinese and Nigerians in Sub-Saharan Africa has contributed to the transportation of illicit drugs- a lucrative business worth billions yet affecting the growing generation through addictions.
Efforts to curb drug abuse
Zimbabwe’s spending on health care increased during the pandemic to 13% of the national budget pushing it closer to the 15% recommended by the 2001 Abuja Declaration by African Union member states.
As part of efforts to respond to border crime, Zimbabwe’s home affairs ministry announced it was investing in drones to monitor illegal border activity that is costing the country millions in lost revenue.
Zimbabwe Republic Police reports that from January 2023 to date, the police have arrested more than 7 000 suspects for drug-related offenses. Within the same period 1 100 kilograms of dagga plants; cocaine, bottles of Bronclear syrup, crystal meth, elphedrine, histalix, skin-lightening creams, and other unregistered medicines were recovered. These drugs have already incepted into the border and are peddled in communities by drug lords who supply illicit drugs to youths and adults.
Registering Process Drugs
For a medicine to be registered in Zimbabwe it would have gone through a rigorous registration process. MCAZ Licencing and Enforcement Division conducts routine inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to verify compliance with the World Health Organization’s current good manufacturing practice guidelines.
According to the Medicines and Controlled Substances Act, only licensed persons are allowed to sell registered medicines from licensed premises.
Nearly at every marketplace, town, and city pavement, various drugs are being sold in the open.
This story was produced by Takunda Mandura. It was written as part of Wealth of Nations, a media skills development programme run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. More information at www.wealth-of-nations.org. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.”
