The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Joyce Akinyi Ochieng, a convicted drug trafficker, has received a 25-year prison sentence from the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for her role in a heroin trafficking operation valued at Sh5.6 million.
This marks the conclusion of a lengthy legal process that began in 2019.
The case began in July 2019, when Anti-Narcotics Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) conducted a raid at the Deep West Resort in Lang’ata, Nairobi, following a tip-off. The officers discovered 1882.86 grams of heroin hidden in a shoe rack, along with a weighing scale and other incriminating items in a room rented by Akinyi.
Two accomplices, Paulin Musankishay Kalala and Peres Anyango Omondi, were also arrested during the raid. The heroin seized was analyzed and valued at Sh5,648,580 under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.
On August 8, 2019, the suspects were charged. Akinyi and Omondi pleaded not guilty and were released on bond, while Kalala was denied bail and remanded in Industrial Area GK prison.
In 2020, the High Court ordered Akinyi to forfeit two luxury cars worth Sh20 million to the state, as they were deemed proceeds of crime.
The trial, which lasted five years, included testimony from 12 prosecution witnesses who described the suspects’ involvement in an international drug trafficking operation. Omondi absconded before the trial concluded, and her case proceeded in absentia.
In the final ruling by Honorable Njeri Thuku, Akinyi was convicted of heroin trafficking and sentenced to 25 years in prison, along with a fine of Sh9,018,000. Kalala was sentenced to 10 years in prison and the same fine.
Omondi, who is still at large, was sentenced to 25 years for her role in the operation. A warrant for her arrest has been issued, and her sentence will be enforced upon her capture.
