Africa-Press – Kenya. The government will open an anti-narcotics office in Garissa within a month to deal with drug trafficking in Northeastern, Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Mohamed Amin has said.
Speaking in Saka, Balambala subcounty, he said drugs coming from the neighbouring Ethiopia were becoming a major concern to the country’s security agencies.
“We are trying to spread our wings across the country but specifically targeting counties where cases of drug and substance abuse are on the rise, like is happening in Northeastern,” Amin said.
The DCI boss was officiating the official opening of Masjid Al-Hidayah mosque, which he helped construct.
Present were Rtd Senior Assistant Inspector General Omar Shurie and former NIS Northeastern region boss Osman Alaso.
Drug and substance abuse has increased over the past few years, with unscrupulous businessmen devising new tactics to sneak bhang and cocaine into the country.
Many people have been arrested by the security officers with consignments worth millions impounded as a result.
So bad is the situation that stakeholders and residents agree it is a ticking time bomb.
The DCI boss said the office will be headed by gazetted officers trained in dealing with drugs and substance abuse.
“This office will go a long way to curbing drug trafficking in the region,” he said.
“We will have officers acting on intelligence to deal with drug traffickers entering the country through Mandera, Wajir and Garissa.”
Once the office is established in Garissa, similar ones will be set up in Wajir and Mandera counties to widen the net, he said.
Speaking separately, Supkem Garissa county secretary Abdullahi Salat welcomed the development.
It will help in a big way not only in curbing the runaway use of drugs and substance abuse but also in improving security in the region, he said.
“The drugs, which have been on the rise in recent years, have caused many of the local youth to experience major mental health issues,” Salat said.
He said drugs have also encouraged some to engage in criminal activity, which has further increased crime.
“And so I really welcome the move by the government, which I would say is long overdue,” Salat said.
Having an office specifically deal with the menace stationed in Garissa is different from having it, let’s say, in Nairobi because we will see the matters expedited and the culprits face the law.”
Meanwhile, the DCI boss commended security officers working in the region despite the difficult working conditions they encounter on a day-to-day basis.
He encouraged them to remain steadfast in keeping the country safe.
Most of their challenges will be addressed by the task-force report recently handed over by Rtd Chief Justice David Maraga to President William Ruto.
Amin said residents and the country at large cannot afford to lose their guard.
He called for teamwork and cooperation from both the security apparatus and wananchi.
The DCI boss said to wage a successful war against terrorism and violent extremism, everyone must be brought on board.
“There must be synergy if we are to win in the war against terror. Nobody can work in isolation,” he said.
“So my appeal is, as good patriotic citizens, let us continue cooperating with the security personnel so that we keep the enemy completely away from our midst.”
The three counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa have for a long time borne the brunt of al Shabaab attacks, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of security officers, civil servants and civilians.
Key sectors have also been affected by the insecurity, with education being the worst hit after nonlocal teachers fled, fearing for their lives.
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