4 including woman aged 54 arrested, 26 sacks of bhang, Sh13million seized in Ngara, Nairobi
Detectives attached to the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) domiciled at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are holding three suspects in connection to cross border drugs syndicate after they were found in possession of cannabis sativa and cash amounting to Sh13.4million in Ngara, Nairobi yesterday.
The four including a 54 years old woman identified as Terisia Wanjiru believed to be the key mastermind of the illicit trade are set to be arraigned to face drug related charges today morning.
“Twenty-six bags of cannabis, four cartons of rolling materials, 173 packaged sweets and a carton of suspected weed cookies. The suspects, 54-year-old Teresia Wanjiru and three juveniles aged between 16 and 17 were escorted to custody for further questioning pending arraignment in court tomorrow.” An update by the Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said in part.
The sting operation was conducted by the sleuths from the Anti-Narcotics Unit and the Trans National Organised Crime Unit backed by officers from the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) based at Parklands, Nairobi.
The bhang weighed 466 kilograms and the police also recovered Sh13 million in cash from the house, DCI boss Mohamed Amin said.
Amin said they will treat the money as proceeds of the crime.
The raid was staged by a team of officers who raided a store in the Kariua slums Ngara area owned by a known drug trafficker.
“A contingent of officers from the Anti-Terror Police Unit based at Parklands also managed to arrest four suspects found at the scene in the sprawling slums of Kariua, in Nairobi’s Ngara neighborhood. A detailed search led to the recovery of two gunny bags where the millions of shillings had been stashed in 26 bags of cannabis, 4 cartons of rolling materials, 173 packaged sweets and a carton of suspected weed cookies.” The DCI added.
Police said they had information the suspects were repackaging the narcotics for distribution in the city.
The sacks had arrived in the city from the western part of the country when police staged the raid.
Most of the bhang that originates in western Kenya and Ethiopia usually ends up in Ngara and Mathare slums for further distribution to other markets.
Police said there has been an increase in incidents of seizure of narcotics in the recent past.
On August 4, police in Moyale seized 500 kilograms of bhang and arrested one suspect in a stealth operation to curtail the trafficking of narcotics in the region.
The operation was launched after police received intelligence information that a lorry had been spotted at a thicket at Kate in Moyale loaded with a suspicious consignment.
The area is popular with such narcotics originating neighbouring Ethiopia.
The border town of Moyale in northern Kenya is an entry point for large hauls of bhang widely grown in Southern Ethiopia.
Once the bhang leaves Shashamane, it heads down south to the border points of Moyale, Sololo, Corolla, Uran and Dukana.
Others use Mandera, Wajir, Garissa route. The other route runs from Funnnyata in Sololo, Marsabit county, to the Yamicha plains of Merti subcounty in Isiolo.
They take the consignments to Eastleigh, Majengo and Mlango Kubwa for repackaging and distribution.
In March 2020, detectives arrested a man with 56 bales of bhang, packaged like second-hand clothes.
