A multi-agency team at the Sabaki River Bridge in Malindi intercepted a Lamu-bound bus and uncovered a stash of cannabis cleverly hidden in plain sight in the luggage compartment.
The bus was making its routine trip from Nairobi when officers flagged it down for inspection.
What seemed like ordinary luggage turned out to be two bulky bales of cannabis sativa cleverly concealed among bundles of second-hand clothes.
But as detectives homed in on the suspicious bags, one passenger, believed to be the owner of the narcotics made a daring escape, disappearing before officers could react.
The bus driver and conductor were arrested on the spot and taken into custody for questioning as the manhunt for the fleeing suspect intensifies.
The seized narcotics are now being detained as exhibits in the ongoing investigations.
Officials have intensified operations against drug trafficking and consumption in the country with dozens of suspects being arrested.
For instance, a woman’s attempts to smuggle cocaine to Dubai were foiled after detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit arrested her at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) minutes before takeoff.
The trafficker, 41-year-old Anna Nekesa Kisaka, had turned herself into a smuggling vessel, concealing several pellets of cocaine inside her body in a desperate gamble to outwit airport security.
But her plan unravelled when detectives, acting on instinct and intelligence, flagged her for an additional screening.
Their suspicions were correct scans revealed she was carrying the illicit cargo inside her.
Placed under medical supervision, Nekesa later excreted three pellets of cocaine, confirming detectives’ worst fears about her risky internal concealment method.
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