Police in Kirinyaga have seized 10kgs of suspected cannabis sativa valued at about Sh300,000 and arrested a man in an operation that also uncovered property believed to have been stolen.
The narcotics were allegedly concealed inside a public address system in what police described as an attempt to evade detection during transportation.
Kirinyaga Central OCPD Evans Getembe said the operation followed intelligence that a suspect was ferrying bhang on a Boxer 125cc motorcycle.
Acting on the information, officers tracked the motorcycle to the suspect’s home in Wigiri village, Inoi, where they conducted a search and recovered the suspected cannabis, a weighing machine, the public address system and other items.
“Today, at around 8am, we received information that someone was ferrying bhang using a motorcycle and through the information we intercepted it and followed it to the suspects residence in Inoi ward,” Getembe said.
Police said the discovery of the drugs inside the public address system pointed to a concealment technique allegedly being used by drug traffickers to move narcotics without attracting attention.
The operation was subsequently extended to the home of the suspect’s girlfriend as detectives pursued further leads.
Officers recovered a Canon EOS 60D camera at the residence, which they believe could have been stolen.
Getembe said the circumstances surrounding the possession and ownership of the camera were still under investigation as police sought to establish its rightful owner.
The recovery comes amid reports of theft and vandalism in parts of Kirinyaga Central, with police appealing to residents who have lost property to visit Kerugoya police station and check whether their items have been recovered.
“We have been receiving reports of theft cases, and we are urging victims to visit the station to identify the recovered items,” he said.
Police have also called on church leaders to inspect the recovered public address equipment and other electronics following reports of break-ins and vandalism targeting churches in the area.
The recovery comes amid a wave of church break-ins reported in different parts of Kirinyaga, with thieves targeting public address systems, musical instruments and other electronic equipment.
Several churches have reported losses running into hundreds of thousands of shillings with Gatuto ACK in Kirinyaga Central, PCEA Karii in Mwea, ACK Muragara and PCEA Muragara in Ndia, as well as ACK Kiamathatwa among the churches targeted.
The thieves have mainly made away with sound systems, musical instruments, television screens and other electronic equipment.
Getembe said investigators were pursuing additional leads to establish whether the suspect was linked to other offences and whether more people were involved in the alleged drug trafficking and theft.
The suspect remains in police custody and is assisting investigators as the inquiry continues.
Police said the recovered exhibits will undergo examination, verification and documentation before charges are preferred once sufficient evidence is established.
Getembe commended the officers for acting swiftly on the intelligence received, while acknowledging the role of community policing groups and Nyumba Kumi teams in providing information that helped disrupt the alleged trafficking operation.
He urged residents to continue sharing information with security agencies to help combat drug trafficking, possession of narcotics and other criminal activities in the county.
