Sh2.19m cocaine haul seized at Malaba Border as bus crew flees

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 — Detectives have arrested a bus turn boy after intercepting cocaine worth approximately Sh2.19 million at the Malaba One-Stop Border Post, with the driver and conductor fleeing during a routine inspection.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the consignment was discovered aboard a Simba Coach bus, travelling from Kampala to Nairobi.

The cocaine was found in an unattended parcel inside the bus, prompting officers conducting passenger and luggage screening to subject it to further examination.

According to the DCI, the driver and conductor disappeared when officers singled out the parcel for inspection, abandoning the bus and its passengers at the border post.

Detectives from the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB) subsequently took over the consignment for further investigation.

Preliminary tests confirmed the substance was cocaine, packaged in eight pellets weighing 547.99 grammes and with an estimated street value of Sh2,191,960.

The bus turn boy, identified as Meshack Medalack, was arrested in connection with the consignment as detectives pursue the driver, identified as Karama, and conductor John Musimbi.

Investigators are seeking to establish how the drugs were transported aboard the bus and determine the roles of those linked to the consignment.

The bus was detained at Malaba OSBP as management arranged alternative transport for the affected passengers.

The DCI said it was continuing its crackdown on narcotics trafficking, particularly along transport routes and border crossings used to move illicit drugs.

​Bruhan Makong is a Senior News Reporter for Capital FM in Nairobi, covering diplomacy, foreign policy, national security, climate, and human rights across East Africa and the wider region.