It was the end of the road for a middle-aged couple who were on Monday, May 15, arrested at their house in Kikuyu, Kiambu County while processing loads of cannabis, also known as bhang.
The couple was arrested in a sting operation that was aided by police informants who called on the police to investigate suspicious activities within the compound.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Kikuyu Sub-county Police Commander Donald Kirui revealed that acting on the tip-off, a contingent of police officers raided the home and blocked all possible escape routes during the morning operations.
"The incident took place in Gikambura village, at the home of a habitual offender of drug trafficking. Our team managed to arrest him together with his wife.
"Upon search, we recovered 500 rolls of bhang valued at Ksh50,000 and approximately 100 kilograms of unprocessed bhang valued at around Ksh1,000,000," Kirui stated.
In the house, Kikuyu police officers encountered a complex factory that was processing the bhang into powdered substance and repackaging it into small rolls.
"We also recovered other paraphernalia used to process and package the bhang. The bhang was destined for a market and schools around the Kikuyu area.
"The offender has been on our radar, and it's only within the past seven days that we took him to court for a similar offence," Kikuyu Sub-county Police Commander revealed.
Kirui also noted that the suspect was no stranger to the law since he had previously been arrested a number of times and duly arraigned in court.
"The court fined Ksh80,000 and released him, but he did not stop, instead, he shifted his factory to his residential home where he was processing and packing the illicit product," Kirui revealed.
Kikuyu police officers asked the Judiciary to assist them in locking out criminals who were out to destroy the lives of innocent children through drug dealing in the area.
Regarding the ongoing crackdown on illicit brews and drugs abuse in Central Kenya, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday, May 10, reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza Administration is committed to fighting alcohol and drug abuse saying that the government would not relent in the fight until sanity is restored.
“My responsibility is to make sure that I have restored the hopes of our generation. The only way to find a solution is to first accept that there is a problem, and we cannot lose a whole generation because of drug abuse. We will win on this”, the DP stated.
According to Gachagua, a lasting solution to the drug menace is in the offing, affirming that a policy to regulate the sale of alcohol and licensing is being formulated by members of the county assemblies.
