Wanted Bhang Dealer Arrested In NACADA Sting Operation
During the operation, several motorcycles which were being used to transport bhang and other illicit substances in the coastal region were apprehended.
Marvin Chege 
Officers from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) on Saturday, February 10 arrested two individuals harbouring 435 rolls of bhang in Mtwapa, Kilifi County.
NACADA officers led the sting operation alongside police officers targeting drug dealers at Mtwapa market. Police revealed that the dealers were ferrying the narcotics originally from Migori County when they were stopped.
One of the suspects was revealed to be a notorious bhang seller in the Coastal region who is among the most wanted drug dealers in the region.
The other suspect was revealed to be also a notorious drug dealer with links in Kilifi and Malindi.
Rolls of bhang seized by NACADA officers on February 10, 2024. /NACADA
During the operation, several motorcycles which were being used to transport bhang and other illicit substances in the coastal region were apprehended.
Area residents lauded the efforts of the police and NACADA officers in the fight against drugs, adding that the move will save school-going children from the dangers of bhang.
Speaking to the media, NACADA CEO Anthony Omerikwa committed to pursuing the menace of illegal drugs in the country to cut down their use on a very significant level.
"We found the mini-wholesaler. We will go to the wholesaler, find the distributor and then go to the source," Omerikwa asserted.
Giving nationwide statistics, the NACADA boss revealed that bhang consumption in the last nine years has increased by 90 per cent, translating to nearly 1 million Kenyans consuming the narcotic drug...which is one in every 53 people, the Coastal region being the most affected.
Last Thursday, security teams intercepted more than 400 kilograms of bhang valued at Ksh20 million along the Mwingi-Garissa highway and arrested two suspects ferrying the drugs in a lorry transporting cows to Nairobi.
Police stated that the cargo was hidden in a false compartment in the lorry, with the team assigned to intercept the narcotics revealed that they were destined for Kiamaiko in Huruma where a supplier was waiting to pick them up.
Police further linked the Kiamaiko area as Nairobi’s main hub for cannabis storage and packaging. Detectives have also linked the surge in real estate construction in the area to proceeds of drug trafficking.
The head of the Anti Narcotics Unit, Samuel Laboso said they have stepped up the crackdown against drug traffickers who continue to procure drugs at the detriment of the country, with most of the bhang seized in the region originating from Ethiopia.
Moyale town, the largest of the trading centres stands out as the capital of contraband that includes smuggling of Kenya’s popular variety of bhang.
