Nakuru police want 'notorious' drug dealer denied bond

Police in Nakuru are seeking to have a suspected drug peddler denied bond and put in remand “for being notorious”.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations attached to the Anti-Narcotics Unit in Nakuru have filed an application before Nakuru Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo seeking to have Mr Joseph Muli Obenjo, who is charged with trafficking and selling heroin and other hard drugs to Nakuru residents, be denied bond.

Through an application sworn by Police Constable Benard Leboo, the police claim that the suspect has another case of the same nature pending in court and was out on a bond when his arrested.

FLIGHT RISK

“If the accused person is released on bond, he will continue committing the same offense,” read the police affidavit.

The police further argued that the suspect is a flight risk since the charges he faces, upon conviction, attract a huge fine and a lengthy sentence.

Mr Obenjo was arrested by officers from Nakuru Police Station on July 17 in Bondeni after they found him in possession of 207 sachets of heroin with a street value of Sh103,500. He was selling the drug to the residents.

He was also found with 20 tablets of another narcotic drug known as Rohypnol, worth Sh1,000 which he was also selling to the residents.

OBJECTION

But the suspect’s lawyer, Mr Steve Kabita, objected to the application by the police, saying they did not provided evidence of the said other criminal case that his client is allegedly facing.

“The author of the said affidavit has quoted another criminal case in another court. It is illegal to mention an ongoing matter. Furthermore, there is no charge sheet to indicate what charges my client is facing and the status of that matter,” said Mr Kabita.

The lawyer asked the court to dismiss the said affidavit which he termed as a sideshow and grant his client reasonable bond terms.

The court will deliver its ruling on the application on July 26.