A drug trafficking cartel that put to test the stern measures adopted by anti-narcotics hawkshaws to paralyze the illegal trade in the country is counting losses after their cargo being trafficked in the guise of animal feeds was seized in Subukia, Nakuru County.
In the operation, 45 bales of Marijuana weighing 138 kilograms were found parked separately in two vehicles.
The seizure followed a tip-off to the police regarding the suspicious Nissan vehicle, triggering it’s interception in Subukia while enroute to Nakuru.
After search and discovery of nine bales covered in sacks of hay, the driver led detectives to his two accomplices who were enjoying a cool breeze at a hotel in the city of Nakuru.
Police said two more suspects were also arrested and 36 more bales of the green herb weighing 79 kilograms seized from their saloon car.
The case was referred to the Rift Valley Regional Headquarters in Nakuru where legal procedures have been instigated.
Most of such narcotics originate from Ethiopia where they are packaged for the market in Nairobi and other major towns.
Police say the traffickers use the porous Kenya-Ethiopia border to get their illegal consignment into the country.
The border town of Moyale in northern Kenya is an entry point for large hauls of bhang widely grown in southern Ethiopia.
Once the bhang leaves Shashamane, it heads down south to the border points of Moyale, Sololo, Corolla, Uran and Dukana. Others use Mandera, Wajir, Garissa route.
The other route runs from Funannyata in Sololo, Marsabit county, to the Yamicha plains of Merti sub county in Isiolo.
They take the consignments to Eastleigh, Majengo and Mlango Kubwa for repackaging and distribution.
In the February 9, 2024 joint operation, 28 bales had initially been found stashed on the roof cabin of the lorry that ferried mattresses in guise, before a further thorough search revealed a false bottom reinforced with strong bolts and rails where another 104 bales were discovered.
Police have mounted an operation targeting the business seizing dozens of bales valued at millions of shillings.
In March 2020, detectives arrested a man with 56 bales of bhang, packaged like second-hand clothes. The consignment weighed 466 kilograms.
Police and anti-drugs authorities are concerned over the increasing seizures of shashamane.
The drug, which originates in Ethiopia is becoming popular locally and has been on the market for a few years.
Officials say an increase in the use of shashamane is a major challenge in fighting substance abuse.
The drug is boiled in a pot and smoked like shisha, or rolled into joints.
Some addicts mix the drug with mustard seed oil and cannabis before rolling it in joints.
The smoke can affect people as far as four metres away.
Traffickers often conceal it in sacks of rice and sugar.
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