Authorities in Nairobi, Kenya, conducted an operation on Saturday, resulting in the arrest of four suspects, including three foreign nationals, suspected of drug trafficking and peddling.
In a statement, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations announced that the suspects were apprehended by Anti-Narcotics and Transnational Organized Crimes detectives.
Among them, a foreign national was discovered with concealed pellets of a brown powdery substance in his house at Nasra Estate.
The foreign national was taken into custody by the Anti-Narcotics Unit and transported to Muthaiga Police Station.
The second suspect, a 25-year-old Kenyan, was arrested in Ruaraka and taken to the DCI’s Mazingira Complex for questioning.
During a routine stop-and-search operation in Ruaka town, detectives discovered similar substances hidden under the mats of his vehicle.
“In a separate intelligence-led operation in Nairobi CBD, two other foreign nationals were cornered and escorted to their residence in Kasarani,” DCI stated.
“On searching the house, suspected bhang and a package of brown powdery substance were found and seized,” the DCI emphasized
The two suspects were also taken to Muthaiga Police Station pending testing of the drugs and possible prosecution for use and peddling.
The DCI stated that the operation, which extends to all counties, aims to combat drug trafficking and peddling from the grassroots, with the police firmly enforcing anti-narcotic laws.
Amidst these developments, The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has emphasized the need for intensified efforts in combating the global drug issue.
Nacada warns that the emergence of new psychoactive substances, synthetic drugs, and the growing trend of non-medical usage of narcotic and psychotropic substances have compounded the complexity of the drug problem.
“The potency of the emergent substances presents serious security and health issues – a situation if left unaddressed has the potential to reverse all hard-earned social-economic and political gains,” Nacada chairperson Stephen Mairori stated.
The chairman of the board emphasized the importance of achieving a balance between supply and demand reduction efforts at the national level, highlighting their mutually reinforcing nature.
He also stressed the need for supply reduction interventions to be dynamic, flexible, and innovative in order to effectively address evolving trends in the production, sale, and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
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