Deploy sniffer dogs to wage war on drug trafficking in Lamu, mothers plead

Lamu mothers have pleaded with the security agencies to deploy sniffer dogs to help boost the war on drugs and insecurity in the county.

The mothers believe sniffer dogs will effectively identify and nab drugs and deter dangerous weapons, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being brought into the county through various hotspots.

Lamu has frequently made headlines due to security concerns, with Al-Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia posing a persistent threat. The county has also struggled with a worsening drug problem, with many young people becoming addicted to narcotics and descending into lives of despair.

Suspects have also been arrested at various points along the Lamu-Witu-Garsen route, including Koreni, while ferrying hundreds of rolls of bhang and sachets of heroin and cocaine stashed in suitcases and inside refashioned vehicle spare tyres.

These drugs have often been intercepted with the help of sniffer dogs, leading to the seizures of narcotic consignments.

Mariam Lali, the spokesperson of the Lamu Mothers Movement for Change, said drugs will be maximally eradicated in the region only through the use of sniffer dogs.

“Once sniffer dogs are occasionally used, they deter not only drugs but also dangerous weapons like IEDs hidden and ferried in strategic places believed to be the key smuggling points for such illegal items in this place. Such places include our roads and the jetty areas across the Lamu archipelago,” said Mariam.

Fatma Ali added that peddlers have tried using all means, provided they bring drugs to Lamu.

“I am confident a breakthrough will be witnessed once sniffer dogs are used to fight drugs and insecurity in our county. We know most of the drug traffickers will be traced and trapped just through sniffer dogs,” said Fatma.

Police display drugs nabbed in Lamu. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

Zainab Ahmed, on her part, said apart from assigning officers to use sniffer dogs on roads and the jetties, there is also the need for such dogs to be used by the police when deployed to conduct search operations in notorious villages where the drug menace has been rife in Lamu.

Villages known for the drug business in Lamu include Pate, Tchundwa, Mbwajumwali, Myabogi, and Kizingitini, all on Pate Island in Lamu East.

Other drug hotspots are areas of Lamu Island such as Kashmir, Kandahar, Wiyoni, Bajuri, Gadeni, and Jua Kali, among others.

Zainab pleaded with the locals to stop colluding with drug peddlers and barons and instead cooperate with the security agencies and share information that would assist in arresting more culprits.

“We need to see sniffer dogs in every notorious point and village. We want to see patrols at the Mokowe Jetty, Lamu Town Jetties, Mtangawanda Jetty, and subsequent villages. Such efforts will ensure drugs stay out of Lamu,” said Zainab.

She called on security agencies in terror-prone villages, such as those in Kiunga and Boni Forest, to be equipped with sniffer dogs during their patrols to deter IEDs and other equipment posing a threat to state security.

Lamu has for a long time faced the challenge of insecurity and drugs, which have destroyed the lives of hundreds of youths in the region.

In places like Mbwajumwali in Lamu East, locals and security agencies have on various occasions come out complaining about how drug users have become a major security concern, with several people, including chiefs and police officers, having lost their lives at the hands of drug gangs.

“As a community, we fully support the use of sniffer dogs and other tactics, particularly in the war on drugs. It is unfortunate to see people, including our police officers and local administrators, being killed every time they tried to be tough on drug peddlers here. Many others are amputated and maimed for life, all because of drug gangs,” said Mohamed Omar, an elder in Lamu.

Contacted, Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech said search operations have been heightened across Lamu to ensure drugs are fought and culprits brought to book.

“I am calling on members of the public to cooperate with our security agencies by sharing information that would help in fighting and succeeding in the war on narcotics,” said Koech.

A consignment of narcotics, including bhang, heroin, and cocaine, seized and displayed at the Kashmir Dumpsite in Lamu Island. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)