Police in Nairobi have attributed high rates of crime to drug syndicates.
A police source said almost 300 young men are arrested by officers from Kamkunji police station in a single day.
He said there was a large network of those involved in heroin and bhang in Nairobi, especially within Kamkunji division.
Kamkunji police station commander Samir Yunus said the drugs trade in the division is worth over Sh144 million.
“It appears there is a ready market for the drugs especially bhang and heroin in Kamkunji division and its environs. Most young men have been turned into zombies. They have no jobs, hence high crime rates,” Yunus said.
He addressed reporters in his office on Sunday. “We are fighting them each day,” he said.
The police boss said they had recovered stolen items and arrested many suspects in the past month.
A recent operation by his officers conducted on January 25 recovered items worth Sh6.5 million.
The items included 18 cameras, 35 phones, 17 Ipads, 10 smartphones and a printer.
On January 22 the officers recovered 500 mobile phones and 81 expensive electronic gadgets. In December, officers from the same station recovered 149 mobile phones and over 200 dismantled phones.
Yunus said the operations were conducted in electronic shops on Kirinyaga, Luthuli and Moroto roads.
He said more than 45 suspects had been arrested and arraigned in connection to the electronic gadgets theft.
People who had lost their items recovered them at Kamkunji police station.
Some of the areas police say harbour criminals are Machakos country bus station, Ronald Ngala and Machakos Ndogo.
“There is a lot of money in circulation in the markets, hence criminals target them,” he said.
Nairobi regional police boss Philip Ndolo said security forces are determined to end crime in the city.
He appealed to the public to continue cooperating with the police by volunteering information.
