Police in Lamu have seized 401 rolls of bhang said to be worth about Sh200,000 and arrested two suspects.
The bhang was seized in a swoop conducted along the Lamu-Garsen road by officers from the Witu Police Station.
Speaking to the Nation on Thursday, Lamu County Police Commander Muchangi Kioi confirmed that two suspects were arrested while a motorcycle which was being used to ferry the narcotic was also detained.
“We have confiscated 401 rolls of bhang with a street value of Sh200,600. The bhang was netted along the Lamu road by officers from Witu Police Station. Two suspects and one motorcycle were detained at the station. The bhang was hidden in huge basket carrying sand [and was] wrapped in a plastic paper bag. We will be arraigning the suspects any time,” said Mr Kioi.
ARREST WARRANT
The police boss revealed that the same suspects have a warrant of arrest on them for another similar case.
Mr Kioi said drug trafficking remains a major headache for security officers in Lamu.
He said that his office will not relent until the region is drug free.
He said police have intensified patrols and crackdowns for drugs in all villages, drug dens, roads in Lamu and called for concerted efforts to ensure the war on narcotics is successful.
WARNING
He warned boat operators, drivers and traders in the county collaborating with drug traffickers that their days are numbered.
“Most of the bhang in Lamu is smuggled in from other counties. We are alert and those involved in such an illegal business, be it transporting, distribution or selling should be aware that we will be coming for them. They either stop or we arrest and charge them,” said Mr Kioi.
The incident comes barely three months after police in the region nabbed 214 small rolls of bhang with a street value of Sh40,000.
A suspect found with the bhang was also arrested in the operation at the Mangrove Terminal Jetty in Lamu Old Town.
An end of year performance and evaluation report released by the security department in Lamu indicates that over 60 drug peddlers were arrested across the county in 2018.
The report also singled out Langoni, Gadeni, Wiyoni and Kashmir in Lamu Town as well as Faza, Kizingitini, Myabogi, Tchundwa and Mbwajumwali in Lamu East as the most notorious for drug peddling in the region.