malvernmugadzikwa
Nyore Madzianike
THE National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPA) has called on police, particularly the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit, to expedite the process of testing samples of suspected drugs and release results timeously.
In her 2023 Annual Report, Prosecutor General Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo said delays in releasing results affected the prosecution of drug and substance abuse cases.
“The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) acknowledges the importance of effectively prosecuting drug offenses,” she said.
“While we have made strides in this area, a current challenge affecting prosecution timelines is the time taken to receive results of drug sample analysis from the Criminal Investigations Department’s Narcotics Unit (CID Narcotics).
“The NPA is actively engaged with CID Narcotics to explore solutions that can expedite the testing process.”
Justice Matanda-Moyo reported a backlog reduction of drug abuse-related cases from 16 373 in 2022 to about 9 000 in 2023.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu