Wanted Kenyan Tycoon to be Arrested upon Landing from India

Suspected Kenyan drug lord Ali Punjani is set to be arrested upon landing in Kenya from India on Monday, according to Sunday Nation.

Punjani, who has been in India for the past few weeks after he reportedly underwent heart surgery, is expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi at around 10:20 am Monday.

Travel documents showed that the tycoon’s connecting flight from Nairobi to Mombasa will depart JKIA at 1.30 pm and touch the ground at 2.30 pm, Sunday Nation reported.

Outgoing Mombasa County Police Commander Johnstone Ipara said the billionaire businessman will be apprehended upon landing for interrogation over drug trafficking allegations.

“We will arrest him the minute he gets into the country. We want him to come and explain to us where he got all his wealth. We got a lot of cheques, title deeds and more than Sh63,000 from his house during our crackdown,” Ipara said, adding that police believe Punjani is directly or indirectly involved in the narcotics trade.

“We have his travel plans and we will be waiting for him. The war is still on,” a senior Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer who is not allowed to speak to the media told Nation.

On August 14th, detectives armed with sniffer dogs raided his palatial residence in Mombasa’s Nyali estate to search it for drugs. 

During the search, the tycoon’s Nepalese wife Ms. Karki Sushmi, 24, was arrested alongside two men of Nepalese and Indian origin. The three were on released the following day by a Mombasa court over lack of evidence linking them to the drugs trade.

Punjani is believed to be a close ally of the Akasha brothers, Baktash and Ibrahim, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges before a United States court last year.

Baktash was sentenced to 25 years in US prison on August 16th and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000. His younger brother Ibrahim will be sentenced on November 8th.