A multi-agency security team has arrested several suspects and seized narcotics, illicit alcohol, and uncustomed goods in coordinated operations conducted in Mombasa, Nyanza, and Nairobi counties.
The operations were carried out by officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya Police Service, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) following intelligence reports on drug trafficking and the sale of prohibited goods.
In Likoni, the team raided a rental house in Corner Mpya Estate where three suspects Johnson Onderi, Felista Ratemo, and Margret Wanjiku were arrested while allegedly distilling and packaging bottles of a substance labeled “SMART Vodka.”
Police recovered several items at the scene, including distilling apparatus and KRA stickers believed to have been used in the illegal packaging of the alcoholic drinks.
“Officers recovered several bottles of the suspected illicit alcohol as well as equipment used in the distillation process,” the DCI said in a statement.
The officers later proceeded to the Shika Adabu area, where two other suspects Charles Onderi and Hezron Migiro were arrested after being found with a brown granular substance suspected to be heroin and a whitish granular substance believed to be another narcotic drug.
Authorities estimated the value of the seized drugs at approximately Sh4.6 million.
In a separate operation within the same region, three suspects Mark Kombo, David Mwangi, and Millicent Bosibori were arrested while in possession of uncustomed or prohibited goods, including assorted alcoholic drinks. An inventory of the recovered items was taken.
Police also arrested a fourth suspect, Tabitha Wangare Mwangangi, for allegedly obstructing officers while they were carrying out the operation.
In another intelligence-led operation in the Nyanza region, officers from the DCI Anti-Narcotics Unit flagged down a bus belonging to Guardian Angel Bus Company along the Kisumu–Kericho Highway at Awasi.
During a search of the bus, officers recovered a black backpack containing three bales of green plant material suspected to be narcotic drugs and another carrier bag with two bales of dry plant material believed to be the same substance.
The suspect, identified as Daniel Ondiege, was arrested and placed in police custody pending further analysis, weighing, and sampling of the recovered exhibits before arraignment in court.
In Nairobi County, a team from the DCI Anti-Narcotics Unit and the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) conducted a raid at a rented house in the Mwiki area of Kasarani.
The house, reportedly belonging to George Mathenge Kamau, was found to contain a package of a cream-coloured substance suspected to be narcotic drugs, assorted packaging materials, 43 non-serviceable mobile phones, four iPad tablets, Sh13,800 in cash, and a computer.
The search was extended to a nearby dumpsite behind the building where officers recovered additional packages containing sachets with a creamish powder suspected to be narcotic drugs as well as more packaging materials.
Kamau was arrested alongside two suspected associates, Josephat Mwangi Njenga and Samwel Nyota Wambui.
The suspects were later taken to Muthaiga Police Station where they were booked and placed in custody as the exhibits were transferred to the DCI Headquarters Exhibit Store for further processing.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations reiterated its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and curbing the sale and distribution of illicit substances and goods.
“The DCI remains steadfast in the war against the sale, distribution and consumption of illicit drugs and goods and sends a strong warning to all involved in the trade that their days are numbered,” the agency said.
