Mandera police seize bhang worth Sh2.3m, arrest two

Some of the 117 bales of bhang with an estimated street value of Sh2.3 million that police impounded in Mandera West on May 1, 2020. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Security agencies in North Eastern have marked Moyale as a leading entry point for drugs being transported from Ethiopia to Kenya and beyond.
  • Driver Kelvin Macharia was heading from Moyale to Takaba town when police officers flagged him down at the Gofole checkpoint.

Police in Mandera West on Friday arrested a lorry driver and his assistant after finding them transporting bhang with a street value of about Sh2.3 million.

Driver Kelvin Macharia was heading from Moyale to Takaba town when police officers flagged him down at the Gofole checkpoint, Mandera West Deputy County Commissioner Kipkoech Labatt said

“On checking the lorry, they found three 1,000-litre water tanks but noticed it had a compartment that was loaded,” said Mr Labatt.

He said that the sound from hitting the top of the compartment revealed there was something inside.

“An empty compartment has a different sound when you knock on it,” he said.

117 BALES

The administrator said the vehicle was then driven to Takaba Police Station, where a mechanic opened the compartment.

“We found 117 bales of bhang in it,” he said, adding the driver insisted he did not know about the consignment and that he was taking the tanks to Elwak.

“We highly suspect this consignment was headed to Wajir then to Somalia but investigations will reveal more,” said Mr Labatt.

He said police were investigating whether the vehicle was registered in Kenya and by whom.

“We are in the process of finding the owner of the consignment because these two are just employees of someone we must find and arraign,” he said.

They will be arraigned at the Mandera Law Courts on Monday.

Security agencies in North Eastern have marked Moyale as a leading entry point for drugs being transported from Ethiopia to Kenya and beyond.