The Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI) on the night of Thursday, June 16 oversaw the extradition of Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh who was wanted in the United States for drug trafficking.

This was after the suspect was arrested on May 31 after a cash reward of $1,000,000 USD (Kshs 116 million) was offered by the U.S government for information regarding his whereabouts.

Saleh had been on the radar of the U.S. federal government since August 2018 till around May 2019, and during that time he and others  were identified during a wildlife trafficking investigation conspiring to distribute at least 10 kilograms of heroin to a buyer located in New York.

In June 2019, he escaped along with his co-conspirators before completing the remaining heroin transaction. He then decided to venture into the distribution within Kenya, but was arrested on July 11, 2019  and arraigned at the JKIA law courts the day after. He was released on a Kshs 200,000 bail and had been a fugitive till his arrest.

 He was declared a wanted man and his arrest warrant was issued with law enforcement widening their dragnet worldwide in search of the baron. 

In June 2021,  the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a joint investigation and a federal grand jury in New York returned an indictment charging Saleh and other co-conspirators with  conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent one kilogram or more of heroin, which meant that he was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

He boarded a direct flight to New York from Nairobi on a Kenya Airways plane.

Meanwhile Nairobi-based detectives arrested five suspects linked to a transnational drug trafficking ring who are believed to be responsible for the sale and distribution of narcotics in various countries within the continent.

In a sting operation conducted by sleuths drawn from the Anti-narcotics Unit in Nyayo Estate in Embakasi, Nairobi on Thursday, June 16, the five were busted in an apartment in possession of the narcotic substances and other items believed to be used in the distribution.

The suspects included two South African nationals and three Kenyans who are believed to part of a larger group that has been operating the crime ring accross the countries.

A deep dive into their possessions revealed items that are suspected were use during their operations.

"After a detailed search in the apartment, several items were recovered including 240 pellets of unknown substances believed to be narcotic drugs, 5 mobile phones, a laptop and travel documents.

"A motor vehicle make Toyota Mark x with a Burundian registration number was also impounded," the statement by the DCI read.

The five are currently being held at the Muthaiga Police station and were on Friday, June 17 arraigned in court with the detectives seeking their detention to avail time for further interrogation and investigation into the same.

The exhibits were taken to the Chemistry and Toxicological lab, based at the recently commissioned DCI National Forensic Laborator for analysis into what the substances could be.