Marijuana dealer to appear in Aweil court

The first court hearing of a man arrested in possession of a bulk quantity of marijuana is expected to commence this week in Aweil town, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

Garang Dut, 30, was caught in possession of 40 kilograms of marijuana, commonly known as bhang, last week during a crackdown on criminals ahead of Christmas festivities.

The state police spokesperson, Capt. Gout Gout Akol, said Dut has been charged under section 384 of the South Sudan Penal Code 2008 for the illegal importation and selling of the dangerous drug.

He said the police have completed their investigations and the suspect confessed to dealing in the business as his source of livelihood for years, selling it to his customers who deal in the shisha business.

Gout told TheCity Review on Sunday that the suspect will be arraigned either today or tomorrow with the 40 kg of the prohibited drug being adduced as evidence.

“This is the first of its kind because the few that we have been collecting [have] never reached a kilogram or half a kilogram, but this thing is the first of its kind for someone to import 40 kilograms of marijuana into Aweil,” Capt. Gout said.

According to the police, Dut has been importing the drugs from Darfur, in the neighbouring Sudan.

Dut’s arrest marked the second in less than two to three years since April 2019, when a man and woman in possession of more than 100 kg of marijuana were arrested by the police in Eastern Equatoria State, Torit.

What the law says

South Sudanese law forbids the sale of dangerous drugs and sentences those found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to death or life imprisonment.

Capt. Gout also pointed out that police have managed to arrest about 27 members of suspected criminal gangs, commonly known as “niggas,” during the crackdown activities.

“These are the things we are working on now. We want to assure the public that they can celebrate Christmas without any fear of threat, fear of theft, or fear of any other gang, ” Capt. Gout said.