Woes bedevilling a convict serving a 20-year jail term for trafficking heroin seem far from over after the High Court turned away a last attempt to hold on to his portfolio of assets.
Joseph Kinyanjui Wanjiru was arrested on December 14, 2016, at Mathare Drive-In Estate in Ruaraka within Nairobi County by officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit and Special Crimes Prevention Unity.
He was subsequently arraigned and charged with the offence of trafficking narcotic drugs at the JKIA court.
At the time of his arrest, a search was conducted at his residence.
A total of 4,857 grams of Heroin whose market value was sh 15 million were recovered from his house.
Also seized at his Mathare residence were two packages containing brownish and whitish substances inside a paper bag, four packages of brownish substances in a small sack, three weighing scales, two heaters, empty wrapping paper, five masks, phones, wallet containing Sh2150, knives among others.
The moment he was charged, the Agency commenced investigations to recover the proceeds of crime he accrued to him through the illegitimate trafficking and trading of narcotic drugs.
As the probe was ongoing, Wanjiru was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. There is no record of the matter having been appealed.
As he went to prison the Agency received information that the convict had acquired some properties using the proceeds obtained from the illegitimate trade of narcotic drugs. A probe ensued.
They were able to establish that the properties were obtained using proceeds of crime.
An analysis of Wanjiru's accounts statements established that there were suspicious cash deposits.
Both bank accounts according to the Agency received suspicious huge sums of cash and cheque deposits that indicate activities of money laundering.
“The deposits were mostly made in tranches below Sh1 million to evade the reporting threshold as per the Central Bank of Kenya guidelines for an account holder to declare the source of the money,” the Agency told the court.
In his one account, the agency illustrated how between 2005 and 2007, Wanjiru would make deposits and withdrawals amounting to sh 2.3 million.
The agency told the court that the bank accounts were used as a conduit of money laundering and there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the same was acquired from the illegitimate trade in narcotic drugs by the resp and are proceeds of crime.
The Agency after obtaining a preservation order filed a forfeiture application.
They asked the court to find that a residential house No 118 Mirema Drive, off Thika road, Roysambu within Nairobi County and a parcel of land in Githunguri were proceeds of crime and liable for forfeiture to the state.
On Thursday, Justice Esther Maina ordered the assets be forfeited to the state.
Although Wanjiru alleged he acquired the properties through business, the court observed that he did not give us any evidence of such business through which he acquired those properties.
“There is no other business that the court can say he conducted other than the trade in narcotics,” said the Judge.
She ruled that Wanjiru failed to tender any evidence to prove that the sought properties were acquired long before the conviction.
As for Kimuri Housing Company Limited, the company that sold him the property, they were given 14 days to surrender the title documents which are still in their custody to the state.