The heroin trade, which was beginning to rage in a very serious way in Malindi, suffered a serious blow yesterday, when officers from the police anti-narcotics unit seized almost 4 kilos of heroin, divided into 38 packages ready to be sold, worth 14.5 million shillings (over 100 thousand euro) and arrested a Kenyan, suspected to be the mastermind of a well-organised gang.
The team, as reported by the local media, raided the house following intelligence reports that drugs were hidden there in a popular neighbourhood of the town.
This operation brings optimism that the crime situation closely linked to drug abuse, which had recently reached unprecedented levels in Malindi, is improving.
Many cases of robberies, some even fatal, have been reported in recent months, with reports of danger even on the beach. The local police had been alerted by local organisations and civil society, with PWAM at the forefront, while the Omari Project drug rehabilitation centre had presented data and figures confirming concern about the exponential growth of heroin use in Malindi and how the township was becoming not only a hub for dealing and use, but also a crossroads for other countries, such as Tanzania and Uganda. The Omari Project's alarm was raised in the context of a recent national drug survey conducted by the National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Campaign Authority (NACADA), which in addition to heroin and cocaine, reports widespread abuse of prescription drugs as well as substitutes for the powerful Chinese drug fentanyl.
Surely this operation should not stop there and, as the police themselves have stated and is reported by Capital News, investigations must now turn to identifying the ‘drug lords’, as those arrested in these situations are just the little fish. The tourist season is just around the corner, with the arrival of holidaymakers who are homeowners or renters for medium to long periods, and safety is top of mind in the needs and expectations of those who come on holiday.