Suspect in drugs trade case fights to unfreeze accounts

A businesswoman accused of dealing in narcotic drugs yesterday pleaded with the High Court to unfreeze her accounts and order the release of her three vehicles, saying they are wasting away.

Ms Rose Musanda told Justice John Onyiego that the three 33-seater matatus were acquired on loans at Sidian and Equity banks and had no connection with alleged illegal trade in narcotic drugs.

She also said that one of the accounts frozen was being used to service the loans and she faces the risk of her vehicles being repossessed.

The accounts containing a total of Sh1.7 million were frozen in October after she and two other women were charged before a court at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with trading in narcotic drugs.

They denied the charges and were released on bond. The court also directed her to surrender the three minibuses, which ply the Nairobi-Uthiru route, and the logbooks to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Assets Recovery Agency told the court that they have commenced investigations to recover the properties, which are believed to be proceeds of crime.

The agency, through Mohamed Adow, told the court there is evidence that she was trading in narcotic drugs and suspicious deposits were made into the accounts before she acquired the vehicles.

But the suspect said she bought her first vehicle after selling a plot in Kitale and her savings from selling second-hand clothes. She added that some of the vehicles do not belong to her but she was managing them on behalf of some people.

A total of 796.66 grammes of heroin were allegedly recovered from her Kinoo house.

Mr Adow, however, said her account statements established massive cash deposits in tranches of below Sh1 million to evade the reporting threshold as per Central Bank of Kenya prudential guidelines. He said unfreezing the accounts and releasing the vehicles would render the planned case of forfeiture useless.

Justice Onyiego will rule on the matter on February 13.