Detectives in Mombasa have arrested a suspected notorious drug dealer who has been using school-going girls to distribute narcotics.
Mr Mwinyi Seif Salim, popularly known as Mwinyi Marebe, was found in possession of one kilogram of heroin, bhang, assorted packaging materials, a weighing scale and Sh1,780,480, which police believe is the proceeds of drugs.
In the dawn raid on April 13, 2024, at Magogoni area in Kisauni, police said they conducted a sting operation and arrested the suspect with Sh1,780,480/proceeds of drugs in cash at a hideout he had been operating from with his second wife Fatuma Hamisi Angore.
Detectives described the suspect as a seasoned drug trafficker in the Coast region who has mastered the art and even used school-going girls to distribute drugs.
His arrest comes a few days after the Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, revealed that some students and school staff were trafficking drugs in schools and urged administrators to deal with such cases.
Mr Machogu condemned the mushrooming of bars around schools that fuel unrest, poor performance, attendance, retention and dropout rates, especially at the Coast.
“In the education sector, when we look at the source for this menace we identify the nearest bars which are mushrooming near our schools, kiosks, and shops around are fuelling drug and substance abuse in our institutions. Some students and school workers are also traffickers,” warned the CS in an interview in Mombasa.
Police believe the suspect was competing with the late Swaleh Yussuf Ahmed alias Kendereni in the supply and distribution of hard drugs especially within the drug dens at Magodoroni and Arusini within Kisauni Constituency.
The slain drug baron was picked up from his Kikambala house on March 8, at around 8 pm with his would-be killers who later dumped his half-naked body was discovered in a thicket several kilometres from his home in Kuruwitu, Kilifi County on March 16.
Two weeks ago, the government denied claims it executed the notorious drug baron “Mr Ahmed), who controlled the Coast region after the death of kingpin Ibrahim Akasha in 2000.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the suspected drug baron might have been murdered by his rivals.
At the time of his death, Swaleh was facing multiple criminal charges related to a drug trafficking operation worth millions of shillings. Both he and his wife, Asma Abdalla Mohamed, were implicated in the drug trafficking allegations.
“Some of these criminal gangs compete against each other and harm one another. So you can’t tell,” said the CS during a press briefing at the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) rehabilitation centre in Mombasa recently.
However senior police bosses in the region confirmed to Nation. Africa that the suspect was eliminated by his opponents.
“We are still investigating but the police were not involved. The drug trafficking world is a notorious criminal outfit. They always eliminate one another in a deal gone sour, or business rivalry. But we are piecing up the pieces to know who killed him,” said one of the senior Coast police bosses who requested anonymity.
Prof Kindiki defended security agencies saying they operate within the law refuting claims that the matter was extra-judicial killing saying it is illegal.
According to the DCIO, the Mwinyi’s two wives Fatuma Hamisi Angore and Salma Mohamed who were custodians of the drugs operating from the house in Junda were also previously arrested in possession of hard drugs and have ongoing court cases.
The police have also classified Mwinyi's family as dangerous and deeply rooted in the drug business as their mother Mariam Hamisi who is almost 70 years of age is also involved in the drug business.
On April 8, 2024, detectives backed by a specialised team raided the house of a bhang distributor in Kilifi and issued a warning about her drug business after she was classified as an untouchable.
“It was whispered that the suspect was shocked by the presence of the new team who appeared ruthlessly and uncompromisable since she is used to giving handouts to the local police,” police added.
Coast detectives have vowed never to relent in the fight against drug trafficking in the region urging drug traffickers to surrender.
