Detectives have exposed a “clandestine drug outlet” operating under the guise of a neighborhood butchery in Marurui, Kasarani.

The operator of East Butchery, Paul Mwangi Karanja, was apprehended after a joint team from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) and the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) acted on intelligence that his premises were a front for narcotics.

Instead of standard meat products, the raid yielded a specialized haul designed to “beat the system” and fly under the radar.

Among the items seized were 81 rolls of bhang and a variety of cannabis-laced snacks, including 18 cookies, 13 “sim-sim” rolls, and five containers of infused mabuyu.

During the operation, the net widened to include a delivery rider, Willinton Nadwa, who was caught red-handed delivering an additional 14 rolls of bhang to the butchery.

The crackdown continued onto the Nakuru–Nairobi Highway, where ANU detectives mounted a strategic roadblock at Limuru. Their target was a Nairobi-bound matatu suspected of carrying a “mule.”

A thorough search of the passengers led to the arrest of Judith Faith Oriende. Inside her brown suitcase, officers discovered three large packages of bhang, meticulously wrapped in yellow adhesive tape.

All three suspects are currently in custody as detectives finalize their files for arraignment. The seized narcotics, ranging from raw rolls to baked goods, have been secured as exhibits.

This double-strike by the DCI underscores an intensifying battle against the distribution of drugs through unconventional and “hidden in plain sight” channels.