Detectives from the DCI conducted a raid on the home of a suspected drug lord, Ali Punjani, in the Mombasa, on Monday night, after Interior CS Fred Matiang’i ordered a crackdown on narcotics.
It emerged that Punjani was so influential that he had been assigned 19 police bodyguards.
More than 30 police officers participated in the raid on Punjabi’s home, attracting the attention of curious neighbours.
Inside the compound, were top of the range vehicles, some fitted with bulletproof windows.
During the raid, police discovered 42 sachets of heroin, 147 rolls of bhang, 747 tablets of Bugizi and Ksh 608,000 in fake currency.
Punjani is currently out of the country. Nation reported that his lawyers claimed the tycoon was in India, seeking medical attention.
The businessman was first linked to narcotics by a US Embassy dossier that the then Internal Security Minister George Saitoti tabled in Parliament.
His name also came up during the trial of the Akasha brothers who were arrested in Kenya and extradited to the US to face drug trafficking charges.
On Monday, police arrested Mombasa MCA, Ahmed Salama, in connection with the drug trafficking racket in Mombasa.
This came shortly after police narrowed down and arrested an OCS for facilitating the release of a suspected drug trafficker.
The OCS, Shadrack Mumo, was arrested alongside three other junior officers—all based at Faza Island.
The home of tycoon, Ali Punjani, who is wanted in connection with the drug racket in Mombasa
