Lamu OCS arrested over Sh50,000 bribe to release drugs

A senior police officer in Lamu is being held by detectives in connection with the release of a massive consignment of drugs that had just been nabbed by officers.

Chief Inspector Shadrack Mumo who is the OCS for the Kizingitini police station is said to have received a Sh50,000 bribe to release the haul and the owner, a wanted drug kingpin in the region.

Mumo is being held at the Lamu police station after he was arrested on Monday morning.

The consignment of narcotic drugs had just been netted at the Mtangawanda Jetty in Lamu East on Sunday dawn while being transported by boat from Lamu Island to Siyu area in Lamu East before police who were acting on a tip off from members of the public intercepted it and recovered the bhang whose value is said to be worth millions.

Sources said the drugs belong to a notorious drug lord who is well known among the police and locals for his activities in the illegal trade.

Once in Siyu,the bhang was to be given to smaller peddlers who would sell it on behalf of the ‘boss’.

The arrest was confirmed by Lamu county police commander Muchangi Kioi who said they were interrogating the officer for more information.

“We have arrested one of our own, OCS Shadrack Mumo attached to the Kizingitini police station concerning an incident where he released a drug consignment and a wanted drug lord from his station on Sunday. That is how we are willing to go in the war on drugs,” Kioi said.

According to security officers who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the case, the haul was handed to officers at the Kizingitini police station who demanded Sh50,000 bribe before they released it.

“It was a lot of bhang, probably worth several millions. It was taken to Kizingitini police station but we later established, the officers were paid Sh50,000 bribe and they allowed the bhang to enter the villages. These officers need to be probed and prosecuted for frustrating efforts to end the issue of drugs here,” the officer said.

Police in Lamu have been accused numerously of colluding with drug cartels by demanding bribes after which they allow drug masters to conduct their trade as they wish, one that has turned many into zombies.

According to NACADA, over 5000 youth in Lamu are hooked to drugs.