Gendarmes Seize Truckload of Marijuana in Tatum

Gendarmes in Tatum, a locality in Bui Division of the North West Region, recently intercepted a truck loaded with 130 bags of marijuana.

The truck was on its way to Bamenda, when gendarmes intercepted it on October 12, 2024.

Bui Division, known as the epicenter of marijuana production in the North West Region, is a frequent target for drug enforcement operations.

Hundreds of kilograms of marijuana are believed to be transported weekly from the area to major cities like Bamenda, Douala, and Yaounde, where the demand for the drug is high.

“The following week after intercepting a truck loaded with marijuana, we pulled out a bag of marijuana being transported among food stuff,” revealed a military source, pointing to the frequency and scale of such drug trafficking in the region.

Authorities are ramping up efforts to curb the trafficking of marijuana, a major illegal crop in the area.

Marijuana, also called cannabis, is a plant whose dried leaves, roots and flowers can cause changes in mood, thoughts, and perceptions of reality when ingested.

It is widely cultivated in Cameroon, where it is smoked like cigarettes and also used for baking and for medicinal purposes.

In the North West Region, the consumption of marijuana has surged among young people since the separatist armed conflict began in 2017.

Many opine that some brutal actions of separatist fighters in the region are due to the high level of drug consumption.

“Two years on, I am still shaking until today” said Fien, a trader. “I was going to Fundong when I met a separatist control at Kikwini, the guys there were openly smoking marijuana when they cut off the arm of a passenger using a machete. The drug is their motivation,” she explained her ordeal along the Bambui–Fundong road.

“We see them smoking marijuana and dishing out instructions at their checkpoints,” explains another trader popularly called Mamoun.

Observers say defence and security forces must fight against the trading and consumption of marijuana and other drugs before the country is plunged into yet another crisis.