Coast drug baron Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed found dead in Kilifi

Mombasa's notorious drug trafficker Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed alias Kendereni is dead.

The drug trafficker who was reported missing a week ago was found dead on Monday in a thicket with gun wounds in the Msumarini area within Kilifi County.

Swaleh has been in the headlines linked to the drug business empire at the Coast region for decades.

He had been arrested several times by the police and had been in and out of prison for several years.

Swaleh was reported to be well established and had maintained a network of drug distributors throughout the coast region as far as Lamu County.

Close sources indicate that he had mastered the game of the famous Akasha family known for their drug empire.

He was also said to have had direct links to drug trafficking organisations in Pakistan and with major drug middlemen in Tanzania.

Four years ago, police in Mombasa made the biggest seizure on land netting 100 kilogrammes of heroin which Swaleh had just sneaked into the country from Tanzania.

It was however established that just like the Akashas, he earned a lot of money from the drug business which he used to evade his enemies.

Investigations by various security agencies revealed for the past month, the drug lords had been looking for him forcing him to remain indoors and he was seldom seen outside in the streets of Mombasa.

Swaleh will be buried on Monday at Sargoi cemetery within Mombasa's CBD after the conclusion of a postmortem.

There has been mixed reaction amongst the populace in Coast, with a majority of them feeling that his demise may have a positive effect on the fight against drug trafficking as he was an active supplier in the region.