Police and Interpol launch hunt for three drug barons
What you need to know:
- Coast Regional Police Commander Noah Mwivanda said the barons hail from Likoni and they have been in the business for a while.
Mr Mwivanda said the three have been supplying heroin, cannabis and cocaine to Coast residents.
Mr Mwivanda said police have intensified their operations and campaigns in schools where learners are easy targets of drug pushers.
Kenyan police and Interpol have launched a hunt for three suspected drug barons.
According to police, the drug barons who hail from Mombasa, fled to an a neighbouring country last week.
Coast Regional Police Commander Noah Mwivanda yesterday refused to reveal the country the three fled to, just saying the government has enlisted the services of Interpol in seeking the arrest of the suspects.
"The barons hail from Likoni and they have been conducting their illegal business for a while,” Mr Mwivanda told reporters at the regional police headquarters in Mombasa.
HEROIN
“Our intelligence has shown that they are in a nearby country. The suspects can run but they will not hide for the rest of their lives.”
Mr Mwivanda said the three have been supplying heroin, cannabis and cocaine to Coast residents.
During the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Mombasa last week, it emerged that at least 162,863 children smoke bhang in school.
According to a 2017 National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse survey, bhang is the most preferred narcotic in Kenya, followed by heroin.
The survey showed that one per cent of the people aged 15 to 65 years use cannabis while 0.1 per consume heroin.
STUDENTS
The survey also showed that some students enroll in secondary school while already using drugs.
Mr Mwivanda said police have intensified their operations and campaigns in schools where learners are easy targets of drug pushers.
At the same time, the regional police chief said efforts to eradicate gambling in children are bearing fruit.
He said security agents and administrators have destroyed at least 500 slot machines in the Coast region.
GAMBLING
“In Mombasa, 700 machines have been seized and 312 destroyed. We have destroyed 92 machines in Kilifi, 74 in Taita-Taveta, 14 in Kwale, five in Tana River and three in Lamu,” he said.
“Let those still involved in the illegal business be warned. We will fight anything that destroys the lives of young people.”
The government has banned the importation and operation of gambling machines and vowed to continue with the crackdown.
