According to lawyer Cliff Ombeta, Baktash was arrested when over 20 police officers raided his house in Nyali, Mombasa where they carried out a search.
“This is in total violation of the Constitution because they did not have search warrants,” Ombeta told Capital FM News on telephone from Mombasa where he had gone to secure their release.
“They have not been taken to court, and I don’t understand why… that is what we are trying to find out.”
We could not immediately establish the nationalities of Baktash’s visitors.
“All their travel documents were taken away by the police who also took away several other items during the raid,” Ombeta said, adding “the officers said they were looking for drugs and took away Henna even after my client told them it is not a narcotic substance.”
Police also took away their mobile phones and impounded their vehicles, as well as a licensed firearm. There was no immediate report from the police on the nature of charges the five will face.
According to the lawyer, the Kenyan officers were accompanied by six foreign agents, who were threatening the suspects with deportation to America.
“During the raid, the officers were threatening them that they will be deported to America if they don’t provide drugs,” Ombeta said of the raid in which the five “were forced to lie on their bellies for more than six hours.”
Ombeta said he will raise the compliant in court.
Mombasa County Commander Robert Kitur confirmed the arrests but did not offer much detail on the raid, only saying “We have declared total war against drug barons. We suspect proceeding from narcotics trade are used to fund terrorism activities.”
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has on several occasions cited Kenya as a transit point for re-packaging and transhipment of drugs to Europe and America.