Detectives have arrested one suspect and seized cocaine worth approximately KSh 2.19 million after a routine screening at the Malaba One-Stop Border Post uncovered a suspected drug trafficking operation involving a passenger bus travelling from Uganda to Kenya.
The incident involved a Simba Coach bus, registration number KDG 093H, which was travelling from Kampala to Nairobi when it arrived at the border post for routine passenger and luggage screening.
During the inspection, officers discovered an unattended parcel inside the bus, prompting further checks.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when the driver and conductor reportedly disappeared, abandoning the vehicle and its passengers as officers moved to examine the suspicious package.
Detectives from the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB), based in Malaba, subsequently took custody of the consignment for further investigation.
Preliminary tests confirmed that the substance was cocaine, packaged in eight pellets weighing a total of 547.99 grams.
The consignment has an estimated street value of KSh 2,191,960.
Investigations led to the arrest of the bus turn boy, Meshack Medalack, who is being held in connection with the suspected trafficking operation.
Detectives are pursuing the driver, identified as Karama, and the conductor, John Musimbi, who reportedly fled the scene.
Investigators are seeking to establish how the cocaine was placed on the bus, who owned the consignment and the respective roles of those involved in the suspected trafficking network.
The bus was detained at the border post as the company’s management arranged alternative transport for the affected passengers.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations, through NANIB, says it remains committed to combating drug trafficking, with enforcement efforts targeting criminal networks that exploit public transport services and cross-border routes to move illegal substances.
The seizure highlights the role of routine border inspections in detecting suspected narcotics shipments and disrupting trafficking networks operating along major transport corridors between Kenya and neighbouring countries.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing as detectives pursue the two missing crew members and seek to establish whether other individuals were involved in the consignment.
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