The duo was arrested with 3kilograms of cocaine with a street value of Sh11.9 million in Barsheba area in Kisauni constituency, a hotbed of drug and substance abuse in Mombasa County/FILE – DCI
MOMBASA, Kenya, Aug 9 – Two suspected drug traffickers arrested in Barsheba in Mombasa last Saturday with cocaine valued at Sh11.9 million are due in court Friday for a hearing on their bail application.
On Monday, police were allowed four more days to continue holding 47-year-old Suleiman Juma Mujibu and 59-year-old Saady Bashur Omar Dawa.
The duo was arrested with 3kilograms of cocaine with a street value of Sh11.9 million in Barsheba area in Kisauni constituency, a hotbed of drug and substance abuse in Mombasa County.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) had on Monday asked Mombasa Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno to give the investigating officers seven additional days to complete their probe.
Ogweno however granted the DCI four more days.
According to the lead investigating officer, Chief Inspector Mosobin Ngeywa, police wanted to continue holding the suspects because they are a flight risk and they could interfere with the case.
He also said the duo could be part of a multi-national drug syndicate.
“The suspects could be part of a transnational drug network because the drugs are said to have been from Juba in South Sudan, through Kampala in Uganda before coming into Mombasa, Kenya,” he said.
One of the suspect’s nationality is in question.
Mujibu was found with a Tanzanian birth certificate, a pin certificate of the Tanzanian Revenue Authority (TRA), a fishing license from the Tanzanian Authorities, a copy of a Tanzanian driving license and a copy of Kenyan national identity card.
The second suspect, Saady Bashur, the investigators said, is known to the first suspect and that he could have interfered with investigation if released on bond.
However, the defence team lead by lawyer Collins Odeng insisted that the two suspects were all Kenyans with valid documents and have families within the country.
Mombasa Resident Margistrate Ogweno said she will deliver a ruling on whether to release the two suspects on Friday, August 9.
“The police will continue holding the suspects at Port Police Station and the ruling on bond will be made on Friday. The investigation officers should also determine Mujibu’s nationality from the Kenyan and Tanzanian immigration offices and file the same with the court by close of business on Tuesday,” she ruled on Monday.
She also asked the defense team to submit an affidavit on the residence of the suspect to the court on Tuesday.
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