The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has detained four people and recovered bhang worth Ksh16,621,500 in Mombasa.
Police say the four were arrested following an intelligence-led operation by detectives from the DCI anti-narcotics unit (ANU) coast region and police officers from Bamburi Police.
“Responding to a tip-off from vigilant citizens, detectives located the suspects’ house and, while therein, conducted a meticulous search that unearthed eight green polythene gunny sacks, eight multi-coloured Nigerian bags, and a small white polythene bag all containing big khaki rolls of Cannabis sativa weighing 554.05kg,” the DCI said.
Police officers revealed that the major drug bust was made following a tip-off from a member of the public and that a Toyota Isis car was also impounded.
Authorities believe that the four, Doris Achieng, 46, Brenda Achieng, 20, Rhoda Vonza, 47, and David Omondi, 26 are directly involved in the illicit trade and trafficking of contraband.
“The suspects, together with the recovered narcotics and the motor vehicle, were escorted to the Coast Regional Police Headquarters for further legal action,” DCI added.
DCI on Ngara bhang
The major drug bust comes just months after a Transnational Organised Crime Unit in coordination with the DCI, arrested a woman in Ngara with 25 sacks of bhang and recovered at least Ksh13 million stashed in gunny bags.
The woman, Nancy Indoveria, who would later be widely referred to as Mathe wa Ngara, was arrested in the company of two other people who police believed were her accomplices.
Police said the woman was a popular figure in Ngara and that the confiscated bags of bhang were in the process of being repackaged for distribution in Nairobi city.
The authorities noted that most of the bhang arrives in the city from the western part of Kenya, the borders, and Ethiopia and is processed in the slum areas before distribution.
A high court judge in March 2024 ruled that Indoveria should forfeit the Ksh13 million after she failed to state its source or explain why she had decided to keep such an amount at home while it could have earned an interest in the bank.
“An order is hereby made declaring that the sum of Ksh13,474,520 found at the respondent’s residence but in the custody of the Central Bank of Kenya is proceeds of crime and therefore liable to forfeiture to the government of Kenya,” the judge ruled.
Police have raised concerns about the increase in the distribution of drugs in the country.