The Sierra Leonean government is deploying armed police to protect cemeteries in the capital after a spate of thefts involving bone harvesting from corpses at night.

According to a Freetown municipal council official these thefts of human bones are allegedly stolen to produce “kush”, a drug which imitates the effects of cannabis and has been wreaking havoc among young people.

There have been claims on social media that bones are used to produce kush, an ecstasy, made from a mixture of chemicals, but its precise composition has not yet been scientifically documented.

Speaking to WADR, Harold Thomas, Risk Communication Lead at Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health confirms the danger and efforts by the state to manage the societal problem.