Anti-narcotics police unit is investigating seven suspected drug traffickers who were arrested with a half a kilo of heroin and Sh4.5 million cash.

Coast regional police boss Larry Kieng said the suspects among them a woman were arrested in different areas within Kilifi and Mombasa counties for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

He said they were also found with 10,000 USD which is equivalent to about Sh1million.

"We have also seized seven Toyota vehicles. We are yet to establish the value of the drug but it will subjected to a test at our chemist," said Mr Kieng.

Among the vehicle seized, one has been branded with Governor Hassan Joho's portraits.

According to court documents seen by the Nation, among those arrested was Ndechumia Bilali Kimali who is out on a Sh10 million after he was charged with two counts of trafficking7.6 kg of heroin in 2015.

Mr Kimali was charged in April after he was deported from Madagascar. Police had described Kimali as a mastermind behind trafficking of illicit drugs destined overseas.

The coast police chief said security agencies in the region will remain on alert to ensure they deal with the drug menace in the region.

"We will continue dealing with these people and ensure we flush them away. We are not going to relent in this war. We are committed in this fight,” said Mr Kieng.

The state through the office of the director of public prosecutions had earlier Monday appeared before a Shanzu law court seeking more days to investigate some of the suspects in order to bring proper charges which can stand in court against them.

Senior Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache said she will give her ruling on Friday on whether police should continue detaining them.

FEBRERO 2017

It is business as usual at drug dens in Mombasa despite the government's tough talk against traffickers and promise to eradicate the menace.

Hundreds of drug addicts are still camped in some of the notorious dens in the county, with little being done to rehabilitate them, the Saturday Nation can reveal.

A spot check at drug dens in Kisauni, Old Town, Shimanzi and near the Coast General Hospital showed that the addicts have been left to fight for themselves despite assurances by the government to intervene.

The addicts still mill around the areas, injecting themselves with drugs in broad daylight.

According to the National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (Nacada) and US anti-narcotics Agency, some 96,752 people are addicted to hard drugs, including cocaine and heroin at the Coast, 40,000 of them are students aged between 12 and 17 years. 

In August last year during his tour of the Coast, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed immediate crackdown on drugs, dealers and their dens and the rehabilitation of users.

He told local politicians to work with security forces and Nacada to ensure all drug dens are eliminated in the same manner illicit brews were destroyed in Central Kenya and Nairobi.

The President gave them a two-week ultimatum to set up a drug rehabilitation centre at the National Youth Service (NYS).

But six months down the line, nothing has been done.

On Friday, when the Saturday Nation visited the camp, construction of a perimeter wall, which began immediately after the directive for the purpose of securing the camp to ward off “bad elements” was still incomplete. 

“The wall is actually not a big problem because it is 90 per cent complete. We are waiting for Nacada to bring equipment and the county to send counsellors and medical personnel,” an official at the NYS camp said on condition of anonymity.

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