Twelve people have been arrested and 121 kilograms of bhang worth Sh1.5m, street value, was recovered in Athi River, Machakos County.
Athi River South sub-county police commander Philis Muthoni said the suspects who included ten men and two women, all of Middle Ages, were arrested at Kisumu Ndogo village within Athi River Township during the 3.50 pm Tuesday swoop.
The operation was conducted by officers from the Athi River police station.
"Members of the public Tuesday reported to the Athi River police station that they had seen people selling and smoking bhang in Kisumu Ndogo area within Athi River Township. Acting on the tip-off, our officers led by the area OCS conducted an operation and traced a store whose owner is unknown located at Kisumu Ndogo area about 3.5kms from the station," Muthoni said.
The police boss addressed the press at her office in Athi River on Wednesday.
She said the officers managed to break into the store and recovered from therein about 70kgs of unrolled bhang.
Nobody was arrested at the scene since the cops found it locked.
Muthoni said the cops also raided another joint within the same Kisumu Ndogo area where they arrested the twelve suspects and recovered 51kgs of unrolled bhang.
The total bhang recovered from the two joints weighed about 121kgs with a Sh1.5m Street value.
The arrested persons included peddlers and those busted by the officers while smoking bhang at the scene of the incident.
The suspects and the confiscated bhang were taken to Athi River police station where the former has been locked up and the latter kept as an exhibit to be used in court during their prosecution.
She thanked members of the public for volunteering information that led to the arrests.
Muthoni urged the public to continue cooperating with the police to help rid the Athi River South subcounty of narcotics alongside other types of crime.
She warned that as law enforcement authorities, police officers won't relent in the war against crime including narcotics.
Muthoni said the public shouldn't fear volunteering information to the police since they won't be exposed. The information they give will be handled with confidentiality of the highest order and their sources protected.
"Those dealing in narcotics alongside other forms of crime should shape up or ship out. They should move out of Athi River," Muthoni said.
She said the police and public had declared war against drug peddlers.
