A daring middle-aged woman on Wednesday attempted to sneak in narcotic drugs into the heavily guarded Manyani Maximum Security Prison.
The suspect, who was carrying a baby, had gone to the facility to visit an inmate when she was nabbed by hawk-eyed prison guards and drugs suspected to be heroin recovered inside a hollowed bar of soap.
Officer-in-charge of the facility Mr Bison Madengwa said police have picked up the matter and would conduct chemical analysis to determine the type of drug the suspect was trying to smuggle in.
Confirming the incident, Voi Sub-County Ward Commander Bernastein Shali said that the suspect, Mary Wairimu, was arrested at the gate of Manyani Prison while trying to sneak in the suspected drugs into the facility.
The guards’ suspicions were triggered when they saw a heavily dented bar of soap amongst the goods she was carrying. When they cut the bar into two halves, eight miniscule sachets tumbled out.
The woman was promptly arrested and handed over to the police as investigations kicked off, “We have the suspect in custody and we will arraign her in court today. The sachets will be taken to government chemists to determine the type of drugs she was smuggling into the prison.”
In recent months, Manyani Maximum Security Prison has become a scene of spectacular drug bust followed by arrests. In August, two prison wardens were arrested while trying to smuggle in cocaine to the inmates.
In the meantime, the prison administration has embarked on a crackdown on drugs and other illicit goods at the facility whereby random but extensive searches amongst the prison population are conducted frequently.
The search has yielded mobile phones and drugs amongst other illegal goods. As a result, dozens of inmates are reportedly suffering from acute withdrawal symptoms after the drugs supply networks were dismantled.