Man arrested after allegedly hiding 69 rolls of bhang inside rice meant for remandee

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 26— A 24-year-old man was arrested after allegedly attempting to sneak 69 rolls of bhang into Kitui Police Station, concealed beneath rice purportedly meant for a remandee, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has said.

According to the DCI, officers on duty became suspicious of the food parcel and inspected it, uncovering 69 rolls of bhang and 33 matchsticks hidden inside the rice.

The suspect, identified as Dickens Tito, was arrested at the police station as officers disrupted the alleged attempt to get the narcotics past the facility’s gates.

“Sharp-eyed officers on duty peeled back the rice to expose 69 rolls of bhang and 33 matchsticks hidden within a parcel of rice meant for the inmate,” the DCI said.

The arrest was one of two separate incidents in Kitui County in which police intercepted consignments of cannabis sativa.

In the second incident, a multi-agency security team manning a roadblock along the Thika–Garissa Highway at Kanyonyoo stopped a Public Service Vehicle travelling from Kitui to Embu for a routine luggage check.

The search led officers to a pink briefcase in the vehicle’s rear boot, which the DCI said belonged to 29-year-old Justice Kabila Njanja.

Inside the briefcase, officers allegedly found 13 bales of cannabis sativa tightly wrapped in yellow sealing tape.

“Inside lay 13 bales of cannabis sativa, tightly wrapped in yellow sealing tape,” the DCI said.

Njanja was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

Both suspects remain in custody as investigations continue ahead of their expected arraignment, while the seized narcotics have been retained as exhibits, according to the DCI.

The agency said the two incidents form part of ongoing efforts to disrupt narcotics trafficking in the county.

“The DCI remains steadfast in the fight against narcotics trafficking, working with other law-enforcement agencies to disrupt drug networks, seize illicit consignments and bring traffickers to justice,” the agency said.