At least 4,600 litres of illicit brew has been destroyed by security officials as the Anti-Drug Week campaign ended yesterday in Nyaruguru District.

The illicit brews comes in various local brand names, including Muriture, Nyirantare, Ibikwangari and Yewemuntu.

They are outlawed and have been behind the increased wave of crime in Nyaruguru District, according to Police.

The campaign was carried out in a joint operation by Police, Rwanda Defence Forces, District Administration Security Support Organ (Dasso), community policing officials and local authorities, in nine sectors of the district.

The Anti-Drug Week was aimed at sensitising the people of Nyamagabe on the dangers of drug abuse.

The Regional Police Commander for Southern Province, Simon Peter Mukama, said: "Illicit brew is very dangerous, but people like them a lot.”

Mukama said some of the brew is laced with marijuana.

The idea to launch the campaign came up after many crimes were recorded within the district in just a few months, all of them connected to the illicit brew.

Angelique Nireberaho, the vice mayor in charge of social affairs in Nyaruguru, said the drugs are a major hindrance to the district’s development.

"When one indulges in drugs, they do not get time to work; when they do not work, they cannot take care of the their families and these in turn become the burden of the state, which is not what we wish for in our district,” she said.

Nireberaho said drug abuse is the prime cause of many domestic problems, including malnutrition in children, family wrangles and domestic violence.

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