This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
Businessman Ali Punjani, wanted for drug trafficking in Kenya, is currently hospitalized in India due to a heart-related condition.
According to his family, Punjani was admitted to a hospital in India on July 29, 2019, after experiencing an acute coronary syndrome.
Police in Kenya had launched a search for Punjani at his home in Nairobi on Monday, August 12, 2019, and were expected to break in on Tuesday to search for hard drugs.
Punjani is a close associate of the Akasha family, whose two brothers, Baktash and Ibrahim, are facing trial in the US for drug trafficking in East Africa and America.
On October 2018, the two Akasha brothers pleaded guilty to six counts of drug trafficking before a US court.
Mombasa Police Commander Johnstone Ipara declared Punjani a wanted man on Monday, August 12, 2019, and ordered him to surrender to the nearest police station.
"We are not sparing anybody in this crackdown," said Mombasa Police Commander Johnstone Ipara.
