National Police Service (NPS) has cautioned club-goers around the country amid an ongoing crackdown aimed at taming the drink spiking gang.
Speaking on Hot 96 on Wednesday, May 25, Police Spokesperson, Bruno Shioso, pleaded with revelers to be alert while partying in different entertainment joints with the current drink-spiking trend.
Shioso further dispelled fears among revelers about being targeted by the cartels assuring them that security officers have already been deployed to suspected hotspots.
He advised people to visit places where they are well-known to avoid falling victim to drink stupefying cartels.
"Go out and enjoy your drink but be cautious. Just know who you are with, go to nice clubs where you are well known. If you go to a club where you are known is much easier than just going to random places," Shioso advised.
At the same time, he disclosed that a crackdown is currently being enforced to tame the menace which is slowly becoming a major concern, especially in Nairobi.
"Our officers have been working around it and we have the names of all the cartels and persons involved. It is something bad victimising Kenyans who are having a happy time. We are on top of it based on intelligence and collaboration with other agencies," Bruno explained.
He also addressed incidents of police losing their guns to the stupefying gangs in relation to the Mirema broad daylight shooting incident where a report by the office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed that the gun used was stolen from a cop in Mombasa in 2020.
The police spokesperson noted that it is hard to stop officers from being targeted but the only option is to narrow down on the drink spiking cartels around the country.
"It is something a bit hard to say you can put preventive measures but for us as law enforcement officers we are zeroing on the cartels," Shioso stated.
The remarks by the police spokesperson follows the shooting of the Mirema businessman, Samuel Mugota, who was linked to the drink-spiking web.
A preliminary report by DCI detailed that Mugota was at the heart of drink stupefying in Nairobi targeting clubs namely Switch in Kasarani, Whisky River along Kiambu road, Red Lion in Ruaka, Oklahoma Choma Zone, Lacascada, Aroma, Backroom, Mkwanju, and Dragon.
The report further disclosed that Mugota had recruited over 50 women who were running the syndicate within the city and its environs.
On Monday, May 23, Dennis Karani, who was listed by DCI as the person behind the murder of Mugota in Mirema located in Kasarani, surrendered maintaining that he is innocent. On Tuesday, May 24, Karani appeared in court and DCI detectives changed the narrative noting that he is not the one who pulled the trigger but the one who drove the car from the scene of the incident.
The police were further granted orders to hold him for 14 days to allow for further investigations.
Following the incident, the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya - PSK has called on the government to revise regulations governing the sale of drugs in the country to tame drink-spiking. Among proposed rules is proper licensing and vetting by the society for all outlets selling drugs.
