Ugandan duo arrested as detectives seize cannabis hidden in Toyota Hiace

Detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) and Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) have arrested two drug traffickers, seizing a stash of cannabis sativa (bhang).

Intelligence about the suspects' illicit activities helped the detectives set up an ambush in Limuru along the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway, where they intercepted a white Toyota Hiace travelling from Kakamega to Nairobi.

A search of the vehicle revealed two black bags, each packed with a bale of cannabis sativa, wrapped with a yellow cellotape.

The owners of the bags, Kiligwajjo Ashirafu and Misanya Suzan, both Ugandan nationals, were arrested on the spot.

Now in custody at Muthaiga Police Station, the pair is undergoing processing pending arraignment. Meanwhile, the seized narcotics are being detained as exhibits.

This comes days after police officers from Gakawa Police Station raided a shop at Ichuga Trading Centre in Kieni East Sub-County that was suspected to be involved in the sale of cannabis sativa.

During the operation, a search was conducted in the shop where 92 rolls of cannabis sativa were recovered, concealed inside a chocolate packet under the counter. The shop owner, along with another person found on the premises, was arrested.

Upon interrogation, the shop owner led the officers to his rented residential house, where another suspect was found in the act of preparing rolls of cannabis sativa. A further search conducted in the house led to the recovery of 692 rolls of cannabis sativa, bringing the total number of recovered rolls to 784.

The officers also recovered unprocessed cannabis sativa weighing approximately twenty-one kilograms, five mobile phones suspected to have been used in conducting sale transactions, and assorted rolling apparatus believed to have been used in the preparation and packaging of the narcotic substance. The suspects were arrested and remain in police custody pending arraignment in court.