MALINDI: A high-stakes manhunt as police intensify their search for Morris Ware, a notorious figure in the drug trade who has eluded capture for months in Malindi.

Ware, described as a cunning and dangerous operator, has been at the forefront of illegal narcotics trafficking in the region, slipping through the fingers of law enforcement time and again.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed that Ware’s criminal activities have been under close surveillance, but the elusive trafficker has managed to stay one step ahead of the law.

In a recent operation, officers came agonizingly close to capturing him during a raid that led to a significant drug bust.

The DCI took to their official Facebook page to recount the intense near-arrest experience. According to their post, the police, acting on a tip-off from vigilant members of the public, launched a raid on Ware’s hideout in the remote village of Midodoni. However, just as the officers were closing in, Ware spotted them and made a daring escape, leaving his store and a stash of illegal goods behind.

Inside the store, the police uncovered a shocking 86 kilograms of bhang, packed in four large sacks. The haul, with an estimated street value of Sh2.5 million, was seized and taken to Malindi Police Station, where it now serves as a crucial piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation.