Anti-narcotics officers based in Mombasa on Wednesday arrested a 24-year-old university student who studies at the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) after he was found to be in possession of 300 grams of heroin.
In a statement, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said that the student was arrested at his Mshomoroni house in Kisauni by law enforcement officers who were acting on an intelligence report.
During the operation, the detectives found the drugs with a street value of Ksh1.2 million wrapped in a clear polythene bag. When the substance was tested, it turned positive for heroin.
"The exhibit was secured pending further sampling at the government chemist, as the suspect awaits arraignment today," the DCI's statement read in part.
In another operation on Wednesday, detectives arrested a primary suspect and his four accomplices in Kamulu along Kangundo Road, Nairobi County after they were found to be in possession of dry plant materials weighing 15kgs suspected to be cannabis sativa.
"The suspect, with his three accomplices who had no identification documents, was arrested and escorted to Kasarani Police Station and placed in custody," the DCI stated at the time.
DCI communicated that the exhibit was seized pending the arraignment of the four in court.
Meanwhile, data shared by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) covering the year 2022 shows that the average age category for initiation of cocaine and heroin is 16 – 20 years.
Another report published by NACADA in June 2021 showed that heroin was the second most widely used narcotic drug after cannabis.
Although the report pointed out that the Coast region and Nairobi were traditionally the hotspots for heroin usage, the prevalence of young people using the drug in other counties was slowly increasing.
"Emerging evidence also shows that the abuse of heroin has penetrated to other non-traditional counties like Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kisumu, Isiolo and Kiambu," the report read.
"Therefore, there was need for enforcement agencies to adopt new narcotic drug control approaches to respond to these emerging challenges including continuous monitoring of new upcoming markets for heroin," NACADA recommended.
