German national arrested, assets confiscated in cannabis farm raid in Zanzibar

Unguja. A German national, Wolfgang Fretz, who is suspected of owning a marijuana farm in Paje-Unguja, Zanzibar, has had assets worth Sh518 million confiscated by the Zanzibar Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (ZDCE).

Fretz was arrested on October 17, 2023, after a tip-off from a concerned citizen reported that he had started a large-scale cannabis farming operation in Paje Village, located in the Southern District of South Unguja.

During the operation, authorities discovered modern cannabis seedling machines, a cannabis farm, and dried cannabis ready for sale, although the exact value of the cannabis remains undetermined.

Colonel Burhan Zubeir Nassor, Commissioner General of the ZDCE, confirmed that the seizure of assets was carried out under the Zanzibar Drug Control and Enforcement Act No. 8 of 2021.

In a separate case, the ZDCE has also confiscated assets belonging to Saleh Khamis Basmani of Chukwani, Western District B, and his wife, Dawari Abas Fakih.

These assets include a plot of land in Matemwe and a Honda Click motorcycle, valued at Sh422 million. Basmani and his wife are under investigation for further assets, both within Zanzibar and abroad.

Additionally, Mohamed Abdalla Juma, a government employee in the legal sector from Michenzani, has had a plot of land in Bweleo, Western District B, valued at Sh35 million confiscated.

Juma is suspected of collaborating with Basmani in a money laundering operation and smuggling phones used for criminal activities from Afghanistan.