Justice Dorah Chepkwony ordered the freezing of the vehicles following a petition by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), arguing that the vehicles could be linked to proceeds of crime.
The vehicles are linked to Dida Jarso Ache and Yusuf Halkano Sokono, who were arrested in May last year and charged before a Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court with trafficking in cannabis sativa.
The High Court has frozen four vehicles among them two luxurious cars after its owners were charged last year with trafficking in narcotic drugs.
Justice Dorah Chepkwony ordered the freezing of the vehicles following a petition by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), arguing that the vehicles could be linked to proceeds of crime.
The vehicles are linked to Dida Jarso Ache and Yusuf Halkano Sokono, who were arrested in May last year and charged before a Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court with trafficking in cannabis sativa (bhang).
The agency claims that Mr Ache allegedly confessed that the he had been involved in drug trafficking for several years, when he was arrested last year.
The vehicles include a Mercedes Benz Actros, a Toyota Land cruiser, Toyota Ractis and Toyota Probox. The court directed the cars to be handed to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations immediately, pending the determination of the case.
While the Mercedes Benz is registered in Mr Ache’s name, the lAnd Cruiser belongs to Grace Mbinda, the Toyota Ractis is registered in the name of Florence Kimeu while the Toyota Probox belongs Samwel Maobe.
Mr Ache and Sokono were arrested on May 29, 2020 along Sagana-Nairobi Highway near Kakuzi Farm and were found in possession of 10 sacks of dry greenish plant material, which later turned to be bhang after being tested.
They were driving in the Toyota Land cruiser Pickup. The police also found them with Sh183,000, which has since been frozen.
They were charged on June 6, before the chief magistrate’s court at JKIA with trafficking in narcotic drugs and released on bail.
“That in his statement to the police the 1st Respondent (Ache) admitted to having been involved in the drug trafficking case for three years prior to his arrest and to owning a fleet of vehicles,” the agency submitted.
The agency said there are reasonable grounds to believe that motor vehicles were purchased using proceeds of crime.
“It is in the interest of justice that a preservation order do issue prohibiting the Respondents and the Interested Parties jointly or singly by themselves or through their agents from dealing in any manner with the aforementioned assets,” the agency said.
Justice Chekwony ordered the vehicles to be frozen for three months and the Director General of National Transport and Safety Authority to register a caveat against the records of the motor vehicles.
“An order be and is hereby issued to the Respondents and the Interested Parties to surrender the original logbooks of the motor vehicles specified above to the Applicant within 7 days,” she said.
