The High Court Anti-Corruption Court has declared Sh 2 million and three properties owned four family members charged with drug trafficking are proceeds of crime.
Justice Patrick Otieno declared that Sh 739,234 held at KCB bank and Sh 424,824.95 held at ABSA bank belonging to Jauria Yussuf Ahmed and Sh 875,484.69 held at Cooperativebank belonging to Asma Abdala Mohamed be forfeited to the State.
The respondents include Swalleh, his spouse Asmar, Mbarak Abdalla Yussuf and Swalleh’s mother who passed away during the trial.
The fourth respondent (deceased), was also the mother in law to the second respondent and grandmother to the third respondent (Mbarak).
The judge further declared their properties in Kilifi as proceeds of crime and issued an order for forfeiture.
“An order that the properties, developments and income having declared proceeds of crime are ordered forfeited to the Asset Recovery Agency on behalf of the state,” the judge ruled.
Justice Otieno directed the Chief Land Registrar or land registrar Mombasa to effect the transfer of the land parcels to the Asset Recovery
The investigation by ARA was triggered by the arrest of Swaleh and Asmar and their arraignment before Shanzu Law Courts.
The 1st and 2nd respondents were charged together with two others for trafficking in drugs worth 110,292,000 allegedly recovered from the house of one of the mules, called Nuru Murshid Mahfudh.
The court heard that at the time the two were arrested, a search was conducted inside the motor vehicle KCH 429W Subaru Saloon and residence and a total of 201.10 grams of heroine values at Sh 603,300 was recovered.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the income from the illegitimate trading and trafficking of narcotic drugs were then disguised and banked into the account of Asmar and Swalleh’s mother contrary to the provisions of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances control act, proceeds of crime and anti money laundering.
It was pointed out that cash deposits below the reporting thresholds were deployed as a tactic to avoid suspicion in accounts operated in the names of the Respondents and a strategy to launder the proceeds of crime.
It was then asserted that the 1st respondent being a well-established drug trafficker in Mombasa devised the use of Mpesa and bank accounts in the name of relatives and associates to launder his illegitimate money and channeled the same into financial system by breaking up large sums into smaller bits by deposits into Mpesa and Bank accounts.
Mbarak was accused of operating a suspicious accout which received over Sh 3 million. He claimed that he was a car dealer but even after receiving the millions in one month, he never made any payments as returns for tax obligation.
It is was argued that the trend is consistent with a proxy used by a king pin to receive illicit earning, launder same and use the money to acquire the kindred property.
