While governments in the Southern African Community (SADC) region and elsewhere are mobilising resources in order to reap maximum benefits from both the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, and African Cup of Nations in Angola, drug-pushers have already stepped up their activities to cash in on the two soccer tournaments.

There is an increased flow of hard drugs through Zambia - and possibly through other countries in the region - basically en route to South Africa in time for next year's World Cup finals while the Africa Cup of African Nations (AFCON) tournament in Angola in January also seems to be attracting another flow.

In recent months, seizures of hard drugs in Zambia, for instance, have become the order of the day for a country where usage of such drugs is virtually unknown.

On November 15, three Angolans were arrested at Ndola airport, in Zambia's second city, for trafficking 249 pellets of pure grade cocaine, weighing over 2.87kg. The three are reported to have swallowed an average 83 pellets each.

That brought the total number of Angolans arrested in Zambia for trafficking in cocaine to five within 21 days and they all flew in from Brazil on South African Airways (SAA) flights.

Earlier this month, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) arrested another two Angolan nationals and a Namibian for possession of and trafficking in cocaine.

The first arrest was in Ndola whose airport has become a busy hub for international airlines.

A 41-year-old Angolan photographer who was on an SAA flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was arrested at the airport for possession of 700 grams of pure grade cocaine. He had swallowed 70 pellets to conceal the drug but the DEC detected it and promptly nabbed him.

Up to that point, this was the largest seizure of cocaine in Zambia this year.

Barely a week later, another Angolan, this time a mechanic, was arrested at Livingstone airport for cocaine possession.

He too had flown in from Brazil and was detected to have swallowed 1.5kg of cocaine in 100 pellets.

A Namibian who had travelled to the airport to meet him was also arrested. This was the largest haul of pure cocaine in Zambia in recent years.

The two men were arrested in the first week of November and little of their story has so far come to light, as the court process is only getting under way.

But this increase in the flow of hard drugs is consistent with what the police forces of the SADC region have anticipated in connection with the soccer World Cup final in South Africa and the AFCON in Angola.

They have all tightened up screening and notched up their detection capacity. They have increased general vigilance and surveillance since the beginning of the year.

The case of Zambia shows clearly that this is no theoretical problem. It is real.

Hard drugs like cocaine and heroin are virtually unknown locally but in recent months they are turning up regularly and especially cocaine, which seems the favourite. Also increasingly entering the mix is the mild narcotic Khat, also known as "Mirra" that is popular in various parts of East Africa and is being trafficked into the Southern Africa region by Somali nationals and others from the Horn of Africa, where sea pirates have wreaked havoc on international shipping trade.

Other drugs would appear to be equally flowing into the region. In October for instance, 50km of the drug Ephedrine, which can be used to manufacture a variety of stimulants, was seized by the DEC at the Lusaka International Airport.

In September, some DEC operatives were seriously injured in a major operation to seize illegal drugs in a shanty township close to the centre of Lusaka that East Africa-based traffickers mainly have long used as a staging post for their nefarious activities.

That operation yielded about 200 sachets of cocaine and four suspects, including a 15-year-old boy, who were arrested.

The DEC officers had to fight their way into the house where they had information that the drugs were concealed.

There were pitched battles with residents determined and united to keep them at bay, a sign that the "drug barons" had reason to suspect the police operation was imminent and organised resistance. Traffickers tend to base their operations in the poorer parts of cities where their money can buy them some security.

In the Lusaka case, for instance, there were attempts to barricade the roads and generally impede the police operation - all consistent with organised resistance and it was clear that those involved in the effort had no real stake except that they could have been paid to act.

Ten officers were injured. Again, the day before, a British national was admitted to hospital in Lusaka after swallowing an unknown number of cocaine sachets in a reported bid to destroy evidence. He had been confronted by DEC operatives in the central business district (CBD). He is reported to have quickly swallowed the drugs as a way of concealment.

The Zambian who accompanied him attempted to swallow four sachets of the same drug but was nabbed by DEC officers before he could do that. He was locked up while the Briton remained in hospital.

Further, 17 sachets of pure grade cocaine were discovered in a sewer pipe during repairs and was seized by officers at the Ndola central police station. It is believed that an unidentified drug-peddler had swallowed them and eventually passed them out in a toilet.

The rather bizarre discovery was made as plumbers worked on the blocked sewerage system in the male cell.There have been other seizures of smaller quantities of mainly cocaine. Police in the region expect more seizures as organised crime targets the two soccer events.

Countries bordering the two - Angola and South Africa - where the two events will take place - are expected to be targeted as the main destinations. Police sources have disclosed that it is not expected that all attempts will be by air travellers but that even road and railway passengers will be used "mules."According to them unsuspecting women are the favourite targets for such "work."

In Zambia, the DEC has appealed for increased support from the public to help stem the flow. The regional police forces are also working closely together to ensure that the flow is disrupted and the traffickers do not have a "free ride." The heightened vigilance is paying off some how in Zambia at least. But despite all the efforts, it is not expected that the drug barons and their agents will always fail; so SADC anti-narcotics operatives will be required to leave no 'stomach' unturned if they are to win the war against drug-trafficking as the continent prepares to host the first World Cup to be played on African soil. (Sila Press Agency)