Sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have confirmed intercepting a cache of foreign currency and rolls of bhang while in transit at Jomvu, Mombasa County.
In a statement via its X page on Sunday, July 13, 2025, DCI operatives acting on a tip-off intercepted a man who was found to be in possession of the exhibits.
The person was also found with foreign currency valued at Tsh5 million.
Stash of cannabis
“Mombasa Anti-Narcotics detectives have nabbed a drug trafficker along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, seizing a stash of cannabis and a pile of Tsh.5M.
“Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths intercepted a Nissan matatu, registration number KDK 208D, in the Jomvu area. Their instincts proved spot-on. Upon searching the vehicle, officers uncovered three bags belonging to 54-year-old Michael Chacha,” the DCI stated.
The DCI has further revealed that the person of interest has been placed in custody and now awaits arraignment.
“The suspect, alongside the confiscated exhibits, was promptly whisked off to the Port Police Station, where he is currently being processed ahead of his day in court,” the agency added.
The crackdown forms part of the police’s intensified war on drugs and contraband, coming within a fortnight after a similar recovery of narcotics in Siaya County.
The operation, led by officers from Bondo Police Station in Nyang’oma Sub-Location, uncovered 270 rolls of bhang (cannabis), 50 kilograms of smuggled Ugandan Bugiri brown sugar, and 78 packets of export cigarettes.
“Police officers from Bondo Police Station yesterday, 3 July 2025, conducted a successful operation targeting illicit brews and narcotics in Nyang’oma Sub-Location, Siaya County,” a post on NPS’s X account dated July 4, 2025, stated.
“During the operation, one suspect was arrested and found in possession of 270 rolls of bhang, uncustomed goods, including 50 kilograms of Ugandan sugar, and 78 packets of export cigarettes, among other items,” the statement added.
The seizure, authorities say, signals the intersection of narcotics and cross-border smuggling. Nyang’oma lies in proximity to the Busia border—a known smuggling route—raising concerns of organised criminal networks operating in the region.
