Sierra Leone officials burnt S$200,000 in illegal drugs and chemicals used in the production of the synthetic drug kush.

Several law enforcement organizations were present at the Sierra Leone Police Training Academy in Freetown, where a small crowd had formed around the raging fire and increasing smoke.

PHOTO | COURTESY drugs 

Kush, a mixture of chemical chemicals with effects comparable to cannabis, has been famous in the West African country for some years.

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"We are destroying confiscated narcotics, tramadol and chemicals used for the manufacturing of kush... to avoid the likelihood of (them) going back to the community," said Mohamed Alieu, director of a police transnational organized crime section.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency reports that they also destroyed cannabis and cocaine.

PHOTO | COURTESY drugs

"We are waging a war against kush to save the youths of Sierra Leone from dying of drug addiction," said the agency's Executive Director, Andrew Jaia KaiKai.

"Our country is in a state of drug confusion and we must eradicate it to protect the future generation," said Joseph Lahai, director of the police's crime services.

President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone declared drug usage a "national emergency" earlier this month.