A police boss was on Wednesday arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts after being nabbed with 14kg of bhang, more than 13 tonnes of sandalwood and an assault rifle last week.

Samburu East OCPD Calvin Juma Boy Ombata was arrested after two police vehicles were impounded at his residence on September 27 loaded with the reported consignment.

The said police motor vehicles impounded were a Toyota Land cruiser registration number GKA 237Y and an Isuzu FTS lorry registration number GKB 870T.

Detectives from the Serious Crimes Investigations Unit got a tipoff concerning the illegal package and rushed to the top cop’s house leading to the discovery and consequent arrest.


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Two police drivers, Constable Patrick Murigi and Corporal Festus Saha, who were driving the two police vehicles were also apprehended during the dusk raid.

At the Kahawa court, Juma Boy denied the charge of being in possession of endangered species contrary to section 94(4) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013.


He was released on a bond of Sh2 million and a surety of a similar amount.

The government banned sandalwood harvesting and trade in 2007 due to increased exploitation of the aromatic tree whose roots are used to make medicines and cosmetics.

But there has been a rising demand and illegal trade of sandalwood resulting in its listing in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.