A senior military officer and a corporal based at the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) were on Sunday arrested while allegedly ferrying narcotic drugs in Moyale, Marsabit County.
Major Peter Muriithi of 7KR and based at Bothey was on Sunday morning at around 5.40 am, while being driven by Corporal Martin Munene, stopped at a roadblock by officers from the multi-agency team (MAT).
The vehicle they were driving in, a Toyota Prado registration number KCS 210L, was found stuffed with a huge consignment of bhang whose value was not immediately ascertained.
The senior officer, who is also the former commander of the Odda Military Camp based in the Sub-county, and his junior colleague were placed in custody awaiting directions from the police and military headquarters.
In November 2019, another military officer, Major Peter Mwaura of Laikipia Airbase in Nanyuki was arrested on suspicion of having murdered his wife and two children before burying them in a shallow grave at Thingithu Estate in Nanyuki. The matter is pending before court.
Concerns have been raised over involvement of security officers in human and drug trafficking across the country.
In January 2020, three Kenya Prisons Service officers were arrested after they were found transporting 8 Somali nationals in a government vehicle from Garissa to Nairobi.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti said the officers were arrested at Mutwang’ombe along the Mwingi-Garissa highway.
The foreigners included six juveniles and two adults who lacked any identification documents. Detectives also recovered Sh18, 000 suspected to have been given to facilitate the transportation.
