A 17-year-old minor is among two suspects arrested by detectives in Busia while in possession of bhang worth Sh320,000.
The DCI said the two were arrested at a roadblock along Nambale-Busia road in the ongoing crackdown on illicit drugs.
The detectives said the other suspect, also male, is aged 40.
They were travelling in a Toyota Hiace matatu when they were flagged down by officers at the roadblock.
“Upon inspecting their bags, officers seized five bales of marijuana, weighing 44 kilos,” DCI director Mohamed Amin said in a statement.
The seizure is the latest in a series of arrests where suspects were caught transporting the illegal drug from Busia.
On August 26, detectives intercepted a motor vehicle and arrested one suspect in possession of 350 rolls of bhang weighing 22 kilograms.
The stash recovered along the Nambale-Busia road had an estimated street value of Sh660,000.
On the same day, the DCI arrested a female suspect and seized 17 kilogrammes of bhang with a street value of Sh514,000.
The detectives, who were acting on a tip-off, searched the woman and later found her carrying bhang weighing 17 kilogrammes.
Meanwhile, suspected drug traffickers escaped arrest by a whisker after they were busted by DCI detectives at Biamati area along Mutemorabu-Boembu road in Isibania.
The officers from Isebania Police Station had been tipped off by the public about the suspects who were allegedly seen stashing sacks of marijuana in a secret bush hideout, ready for transportation.
With a swift response, the officers managed to recover five and a half sacks of bhang weighing 260kgs with an estimated street value of Sh7, 800,000. The suspects, however, pulled off a daring escape into the nearby thicket,” the DCI boss said.
He said the two suspects arrested in Busia are being processed pending arraignment while efforts are ongoing to track down the suspects who managed to evade capture in Isibania.
Amin encouraged Kenyans to continue collaborating with the officers by anonymously reporting suspicious activities and individuals via #FichuaKwaDCI Call 0800-722-203.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations extends its utmost gratitude to the public for sharing valuable information and stands firm in its commitment to counter trafficking in narcotics,” he said.
