This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
On June 17, the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) arrested Mrs. Rose Musanda Monyani at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court, charging her with trafficking narcotics.
Investigations by the ARA, attached to the police, revealed that Mrs. Monyani had invested heavily in the matatu industry, but could not explain the source of her capital.
According to court papers, 'Mrs. Monyani has not been able to give a reasonable explanation to prove any legitimate source of the same. Our investigations have established that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the assets and funds in issue are proceeds of crime obtained through an illegitimate trade in narcotic drug substances.'
During a search of her home in Kinoo, officers discovered Sh25 million and an unknown substance, later found to contain heroin at 40% purity.
Further investigations showed that Mrs. Monyani had acquired assets and registered them under her name and proxies to conceal the source of the funds.
It has emerged that drug traffickers have networks in multiple countries and use close relatives and proxies to trade, with mules doing the dirty work of distributing drugs on behalf of barons.
Drug lords then use the money to acquire assets and register them under their names and companies to disguise the source of the funds.
As part of efforts to corner these criminals, the Attorney-General Paul Kihara and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji urged residents to reveal drug dealers during a tour of Lamu, Hindi, and Mpeketoni towns in March.
