Multi-agency operations targeting organised crime is bearing fruits, police say

Security chiefs say they made major strides in January in the war on organised crime.

The crimes include drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching, rape, murder and robbery with violence.

In January alone, five victims of human smuggling died due to inhumane conditions and suffocation during transportation.

Officials rescued more than 500 persons in January who were being trafficked through the country.

This was made possible through multi-agency operations, Director of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amid said.

In what appears to have been a long and slow January for some Kenyans, security apparatus have been having sleepless nights due to the upsurge of criminal activities in major towns and cities across the country, he added in an interview.

“We are sustaining the operations targeting these organized gangs to dismantle them.”

With criminals taking advantage of the festive season which often comes with a celebratory mood, the DCI said that they have been working around the clock to ensure that Kenyans are safe and their children free from the alcohol and drug abuse wave that has largely affected many families in the country.

“A series of operations were staged in late December and January conducted by the officers to nab key individuals involved in serious organized crime and we made good progress,” Amin said.

Police say the leaders of these groups are largely feared due to their political affiliations and influence, especially within Lamu, Diani, and Mombasa on the Coast and in Nairobi.

The areas include the central business district, Eastlands, Roysambu Kilimani, and Kileleshwa, police say.

Officials say the criminals are now taking off from their hideouts in towns like Thika, Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado, and Nakuru and re-locating to as far as Western, Nyanza and North Rift regions.

As part of the operations, teams raided various bars and nightclubs which are used as dens for peddling drugs, sale of illicit brew and smoking shisha.

This was followed by the closure and de-registration of chemists and pharmacies that were being used as dispensing points for narcotics and other psychotropic substances.

This led to a series of seizures of large consignments of narcos, rescuing of victims who had been subjected to inhumane conditions as a result of human trafficking and seizure of animal trophies that would have made their way out of the country to Asian markets.

For instance, in Machakos, a man believed to be a supplier of bhang in the area was on January 31 arrested in an operation.

Officials said apart from being a bhang trafficker, he also stores drugs on behalf of several cartels operating between Machakos and Mombasa.

He was found with over 200 bales of bhang weighing about 1,000 kilos.

The bhang had been transported using a tanker which was also seized by the officers.

A simultaneous arrest and raid were conducted within the Kamulu area by DCI’s anti-narcotics unit(ANU) where four drug distributors were arrested with approximately 200 bales of Bhang that had been re-packaged ready for distribution.

Mombasa ANU officers had been investigating a cartel that had been selling heroin to students of a college in Mombasa.

On January 31, 2024, in the Junda area within Mombasa, the officers arrested a student with four kilos of heroin.

The suspect is the son to the famous Mshomoroni drug queen, insiders said.

Insiders said the team is motivated after seeing their cases going through a full trial in court and the eventual conviction of drug traffickers.

Sources said the officers are more hopeful and feel that their investigative work has not been in vain.

With the conviction of high-profile drug traffickers, they believe this will send a strong message to those involved in the illegal trade.

The officers have cited the conviction and sentencing of Maimuna Jumanne Amir in Mombasa.

Maimuna was arrested on March 14, 2021, at the Moi International Airport- Mombasa for being in possession of 5.4 kilos of heroin valued at Sh16.2 million which had been concealed in a black travelling bag.

Maimuna had travelled from South Africa through Addis before arriving at MIA-Mombasa.

She was charged with the offence of trafficking in Narcotic Drugs contrary to Section 4 (a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act No. 4 of 1994.

Maimuna was sentenced to serve 45 years imprisonment and pay a fine of Sh48 million.

Another success noted was when Schola Namuyu Imbiti was sentenced to 15 years at JKIA Law Courts for trafficking in narcotics.

She was arrested in 2019 for possession of Cocaine worth Sh2 million.

Multi-agency teams have also intensified operations against poachers.

The teams have heightened surveillance within the parks and conservancies to keep poachers from killing animals for their trophies and hides.

The team including police and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) are also pursuing individuals who are known to be trophy traders operating in the East African region and using Kenya as their transit to smuggle trophies to Asia.

In Taita Tafeta, a trophy dealer who operates in Voi was found in possession of a piece of elephant tusk weighing four kilograms and estimated to be worth Sh5 million.

In January alone, up to ten cases of handling of elephant tusks were recorded.

On the other hand, according to the police, they are paying attention to human traffickers.

On January 24, within the Sosion Estate Kayole area, Nairobi DCI officers arrested a known and notorious Kenyan human trafficker operating between Moyale and Nairobi.

The officers managed to rescue six Ethiopian illegal immigrants.

Her husband fled the scene as he is a bhang dealer and assists his wife in the human trafficking business.

DCI reports revealed that they have rescued over 500 persons in January who were being trafficked through the country.

In Tigoni, Limuru, two suspects were arrested over rape. Police said one of them had a sexually transmitted infection.