Security officers have uncovered a three-acre bhang plantation estimated to be worth Sh60 million in Mwingi Central, Kitui County.
The plantation was discovered along the Tana River in Kiomo Kyethani Ward following an intelligence-led operation involving officers from the National Police Service (NPS) and National Government Administration Officers (NGAO).
According to police, the officers acted on credible intelligence and raided a river delta in Kakongo Village, Kairungu Location, where they discovered the large-scale cultivation of bhang.
The illegal crop had been planted among assorted food crops, in what police believe was an attempt to conceal the plantation and avoid detection.
The plantation covered approximately three acres and contained a large quantity of mature bhang.
Police, with the assistance of members of the public, uprooted the plants and transported them to Mwingi Police Station for weighing.
The seized bhang weighed approximately 2,000 kilograms and had an estimated street value of Sh60 million.
The operation also led to the recovery of equipment believed to have been used to cultivate and maintain the plantation.
Among the items recovered were seven solar panels, six jembes, four pangas, two weighing scales, two fork jembes and two hacksaws.
Officers also recovered a solar control unit, assorted solar accessories, five petrol-operated water-pump generators and 30 kilograms of CAN fertiliser.
Other tools and equipment suspected to have been used in the cultivation of the illegal crop were also recovered at the site.
Police said assorted personal documents believed to belong to the cultivators were found at the plantation.
However, the suspects managed to escape before officers could arrest them.
Investigations have since been launched to identify and apprehend the individuals behind the large-scale cultivation of bhang along the Tana River.
Detectives from the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB) in Mwingi Central are pursuing leads to establish the owners and operators of the plantation and determine whether it was connected to a wider narcotics trafficking network.
The National Police Service said investigations would continue until those responsible are brought to justice.
“The National Police Service (NPS) remains steadfast in its mission to disrupt the cultivation, trafficking, and distribution of narcotic drugs through intelligence-led crackdowns and urges the public to continue sharing actionable information that can help expose and dismantle these criminal enterprises,” police said.
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