US-wanted drug trafficker with $1M bounty on his head arrested near Somalia border

Photo Credit: US embassy in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya - The war against wildlife and drug trafficking in Kenya was boosted following the recent arrest of one of the notorious suspects, who has been evading police and intelligence teams' radar for a couple of years.

A joint operation conducted by authorities in Kenya and the US led to the arrest of Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, for whom the US had announced a reward for information leading to his arrest. He was one of the two notorious criminals being sought by the State Department.

Officials in the US say their Kenyan counterparts received information that led to the arrest of Saleh in Garissa County near the Kenya-Somalia border in Liboi. An embassy statement said U.S. and Kenyan law enforcement officials cooperated to apprehend Saleh, The Voice of America reports.

Last Thursday, the US placed $1 million bounties on the information leading to the arrest of Saleh. Another suspect Abdi Hussein Ahmed still remains at large but security forces have activated the mission to have him arrested for drug trafficking.

Eric W. Kneedler, chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, said Monday’s arrest of Saleh “would not have been possible without the public’s support. He appealed for information leading to Ahmed’s arrest.

Reports indicate that Saleh is currently held in a police station within Kenya's capital, Nairobi as authorities process his extradition to the US to face charges. The United States and Kenya are close partners on matters of counterterrorism and economic reforms.

Saleh was arrested back in 2019 for drug trafficking but released on bail, according to the U.S. State Department. A statement said he was a fugitive with an outstanding warrant for his arrest. A federal grand jury in New York indicted him in 202, VOA noted.

The two; Saleh and Ahmed, are accused of distribution, transportation, and smuggling of 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and 10 tons of elephant ivory from different African countries.

Kenya has been battling to control wildlife and drug trafficking for decades and various operations have led to the arrest and prosecution of dozens of people. The US has been a close partner of Nairobi in fighting such vices which are detrimental to the economy.

GAROWE ONLINE