Murkomen issues stern warning to drug traffickers

Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has put drug traffickers in the country on notice.

Speaking to the media during his Jukwaa La Usalama tour of Isiolo, the CS declared that the government is intensifying its crackdown on drug barons who have been using the town as a conduit for trafficking.

He noted that the drug problem in Isiolo is only surpassed by Nairobi and Mombasa, identifying cocaine, cannabis, and heroin as the most prevalent substances being trafficked and abused.

Murkomen highlighted that drug traffickers are often powerful individuals, some of whom are heavily armed.

“We have made significant progress in tackling drug trafficking in this county. We are now targeting those behind the trafficking networks to ensure we completely dismantle this menace,” he stated.

Isiolo has recently garnered attention due to a rise in hard drug abuse, with the county serving as a transit route for trafficking from neighbouring Ethiopia.

This situation has led to a government-led operation, known as Operation Ondoa Jangili, aimed at combating cross-border drug trade.

So far, the operation has yielded success, with authorities seizing drugs worth millions and arresting dozens of notorious peddlers, including 78 foreign nationals.

“Operation Ondoa Jangili has done a commendable job in the fight against drug trafficking in this area. We have seized tonnes of drugs in transit that would have destroyed our youth, and we have brought those responsible to justice,” said the CS.

He was accompanied by MPs Joseph Samal (Isiolo South) and Mohamed Tubi (Isiolo North), General Service Unit Commandant Ranson Lolmodooni, Eastern Regional Commissioner Paul Rotich, and Isiolo County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding, among other senior security and administrative officials.