Police have arrested 18 suspects for various offenses during an operation at Gaborone Bus Rank this past Thursday.
According to a press statement issued by Botswana Police, 16 of the suspects are Batswana while 2 are foreigners. Respectively, 14 are female, 4 are males and they are aged between 27 and 52.
As the press release states, the police raid established that there is an unlawful importation, distribution, sale, storage, and advertising of unregistered medical products and illicit drugs.
Upon search, the suspects were found in possession of illegal products which included skin bleaching cosmetics, birth control pills, GrandPa, libido enhancing coffees as well as what the police referenced as habit-forming drugs such as dagga and methcathinone.
Furthermore, it was discovered that there is the trafficking of what the police referred to as Narcotics or Psychotropic substances.
They also discovered that there are activities of foreign currency exchange without a license.
The police conveyed that the products were confiscated as exhibits and that they have identified Gaborone Bus Rank as a hot spot for criminal activities and a hub for the business of unlawfully acquired goods.
Further, the public was advised to desist from buying goods from unlicensed providers as well as dealing in exchange for foreign currency from operators without a license issued by Bank of Botswana.
Meanwhile, most of the stall operators expressed disappointment towards the raid, noting that the police are instilling fear in them when all they are just trying to do is to fend for themselves and their families. “We are now afraid to run our businesses freely,” said one resentful lady who experienced the raid.
She imparted that they were searched one by one to determine if they were not selling unlawful goods and if they were not in possession of foreign currency or Botswana currency in superfluous, adding that her neighboring stall operators were detained.