MACHAKOS, Kenya, Feb 8 – A high-impact, intelligence-led anti-narcotics operation has dealt a fresh blow to drug trafficking networks in Machakos County following a coordinated NACADA-led multi-agency raid in Matuu Town, Yatta Sub-County.
The pre-dawn crackdown, conducted in the early hours of Sunday, was spearheaded by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, as part of an ongoing nationwide surge in supply-suppression operations.
The operation targeted two suspected drug distribution sites that had been under surveillance for the sale of cannabis within Matuu Town and its surrounding settlements.
At the first location, officers recovered 12 brooms of cannabis and arrested one female suspect believed to be directly involved in retail distribution.
A second, more elaborate site yielded 360 small rolls of cannabis and approximately 100 grammes of unprocessed dry plant material suspected to be narcotic drugs. Two suspects were arrested at the scene. Officers also seized weighing scales, rolling materials, rizzlers, and assorted paraphernalia suspected to have been used in the processing, packaging, and sale of the drugs.
All three suspects, together with the recovered exhibits, were booked at Matuu Police Station pending further processing and arraignment in court.
Speaking after the operation, NACADA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Anthony Omerikwa said the raid signaled an escalation of enforcement efforts under the Presidential Directive on the renewed national fight against drugs.
“This operation underscores the Authority’s resolve to pluck drug lords and their associates from our communities one by one in line with the Presidential Directive on the renewed fight against drugs in Kenya,” Dr. Omerikwa said.
He warned that enforcement agencies are tightening the noose around narcotics networks and dismantling supply chains systematically.
“Those profiting from illegal drug enterprises at the expense of the Kenyan youth must know that we are coming for them without fear or favour. We will not relent until these criminal networks are completely dismantled and our communities made safe,” he added.
The Machakos operation comes barely a day after another NACADA-led crackdown in Naivasha on Saturday morning, during which an associate of a well-known drug trafficker was arrested with a large haul of cannabis and is currently awaiting arraignment.
Authorities say the back-to-back operations demonstrate improved intelligence coordination and renewed operational resolve to disrupt narcotics markets, deter traffickers, and protect young people from the harmful effects of drugs.
NACADA has reaffirmed that sustained multi-agency enforcement remains a core pillar of Kenya’s broader demand- and supply-reduction strategy in the fight against substance abuse.
