A notorious drug lord who was picked up by alleged police officers for interrogation has been found dead. Yusuf Ahmed Swaleh, alias Candy Rain or Kendereni a man believed to have taken over the reign of drug trafficking in the Coastal towns from the fallen Akasha empire, is said to have been killed shortly after he was picked for interrogation according to his lawyer Jared Magolo speaking to the media.
“Yes. They killed him. His body was found in Kilifi. He was arrested on Friday, nine days ago,” Mr Magolo stated in a text message to a local newspaper.
His body was discovered at Kiruwitu near Vipingo in Kilifi on Sunday.
Mombasa drug lord
Police believe the supply of narcotics and especially heroin that is ruining lives in Mombasa came from him.
Swaleh also known as Kendereni, the slain drug trafficker lived in Mombasa and had been trafficking and supplying narcotics creating a whole generation of drug addicts within the town.
Swaleh had been working with mules who distribute heroin to various drug dens from which hundreds of youths are able to access the drugs.
According to investigators, the drugs also found their way into nightclubs and some hotels where both local and foreign tourists are able to access the drugs.
Some of the drug peddlers are also associated with criminal groups involved in muggings within Kisauni, Bombolulu, Majengo and Likoni areas.
Police believe he was the remaining head of the drug trafficking gang in the area.
According to police, Swaleh had managed to smuggle the drugs from Tanzania with the help of his family who are also in the drug business.
Swaleh who was residing in Kikambala also ran an elaborate money laundering scheme which he used to launder the drug trafficking proceeds.
“He had several till numbers which money is deposited into and owns several Mpesa shops in Mtwapa and Kikambala shopping centers.”
After the death of Bosire Nyaigoti one of his key distributors, Swaleh started working with Swaleh Taim Mgoshi one of the drug dealers in Kwale county.
Detectives say Swaleh had been arrested severally for his involvement in drug trafficking and has been released on cash bail.
He had also been acquitted from prison under unclear circumstances.
There were fears of graft in his cases.
This left him to continue operating freely. Swaleh hired the services of a lawyer who representsy him in majority of the court cases.
Swaleh was behind the 92 kilograms of heroin that were seized in September 2017, one of the largest drug consignments to be seized in history.
A kilogram of heroin can be used by hundreds of youths once mixed with cutting agents and hence such a large consignment can be used consistently for months.
Investigations showed Swaleh accumulated wealth from selling drugs, which include houses all over Mombasa which are also managed by his family.
On October 14, 2023 in Malindi Town, police from the counter –organized crime unit in Mombasa arrested Benta AKinyi Ogola, a narcotic distributor operating within in the area and seized a kilogram of narcotics suspected to be heroin.
Benta had travelled to Mombasa on a narcotic sourcing mission and was on her way back when she was intercepted.
The accused was presented before Malindi law court on October 16 and pleaded not guilty for the offence of trafficking narcotic drugs.
The ruling on bond will be delivered on October 26, 2023.
Police say she sources the drugs from Swaleh.
This comes in the backdrop of a recent National drug survey by National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) indicating widespread abuse of prescription medication.
DCI conducted operations where traditional dealers in hard drug were arrested while in possession of assorted prescription pills pointing to a shortage of heroin.
The report indicates that, subscription for harm reduction clinics where methadone maintenance treatment is used to treat opioid dependence has increased especially at the costal city of Mombasa.
The opioid dependent takes a daily dose of methadone as a liquid or pill which reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings for opioids.
In the report, the medications commonly abused were identified as codeine, dextromethorphan, noscapine, morphine, caffeine, ketamine and papaverine.
The government is now looking at measures to curb the proliferation and availability of the medications in the market.
Police have intensified operations to address the menace. This has led to seizure of narcotics and arrest of suspects.
Renewed
Swaleh’s murder comes at a time when the Kenyan authorities have tightened the grip on illicit alcohol and enhanced war on narcotics. Led by the deputy president Rigathi Gachagua and interior minister Kindiki Kithure, the government issued a stern warning to drug dealers in the past weeks with police commissioner IG Koome sounding a warning to the dealers giving them a grace period that has since lapsed to surrender.
Currently, they’re a nationwide crackdown on illegal alcohol and narcotics.
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