Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said the 31 sacks of the drug was seized by the police at the Namanga border in an operation that saw the driver of the truck escape the police dragnet. The officers were on a routine inspection of the truck when they found the bhang concealed in one of the trucks compartments, KRA spokesman Kennedy Onyonyi said in a statement issued in Nairobi.Onyonyi said the police have launched a major manhunt for the truck driver as the authorities tighten security at the border to avert future incidents of drug trafficking from Tanzania which is seen as the source of the drug being consumed in Kenya.The police said the bhang weighing 960 kg was concealed in a vehicle which was headed to Nairobi along the Namanga-Kajiado highway. Divisional police commander Stephen Nyatich said cases of transportation of bhang from Tanzania to Kenya was on the rise and vowed to ensure that the trade is curbed. Nyatich said they will work with their Tanzanian counterparts to fight those engaging in the illegal trade whose market is easily found in Kenya.Drug abuse in the East African nation is widespread with most users said to be in Nairobi and Mombasa. The problem has pervaded all spheres of the society. However, most of those affected are young people. In the recent past, several people have been arrested at Kenyas Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while ferrying drugs worth millions of shillings from different destinations. UN reports indicate that most traffickers use Kenya as a transit point. Drugs pass through the country en-route to other African countries, Asia and America.Drug abuse has been blamed for aiding in the increase of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, particularly where users share needles while injecting themselves.
