Ugandan police said they had arrested eight of its officers including a senior commander during its investigation into drug trafficking.

Police spokesperson Asan Kasingye told Xinhua by telephone that a senior commissioner of police in charge of the Very Important Persons Protection Unit, a former commandant of aviation police, and seven others have been detained over disappearance of 85 kgs of cocaine recovered from drug traffickers in 2015 at the Entebbe International Airport.

"The accused officers tampered and removed the cocaine that was kept as exhibit. They replaced it with a fake substance," he said.

This came amid reports that 87 suspected drug dealers had disappeared from police custody.

According to local media, dozens of drug traffickers have been arrested over a period of 13 years but they never appeared in court.

The East African country is seen as a transit point for drugs traffickers from South America and Southeast Asia

source: Alarabiya