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 wee hours of Sunday, February 8 was spearheaded by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), working jointly with enforcement partners as part of the ongoing nationwide surge in supply-suppression operations.
The operation targeted two notorious drug distribution sites long under surveillance for the sale of cannabis within the town and its surrounding settlements.
At the first site, 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 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 signals an escalation of enforcement momentum 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,” he stated.
Dr. Omerikwa 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 hot on the wake of another NACADA-led crackdown carried out in Naivasha on Saturday morning, where 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 successes demonstrate growing intelligence coordination and operational resolve to disrupt narcotics markets, deter traffickers, and shield young people from the devastating grip of drugs.
NACADA has reaffirmed that sustained multi-agency enforcement remains central to Kenya’s broader demand- and supply-reduction strategy in the war against substance abuse.
