A man and his wife have been sentenced to 25 years each in prison after being found guilty of smuggling 368.5 kilograms of bhang.

Tom Ouma, Paul Ochieng, and Ruth Atieno appeared in JKIA Court on Wednesday for sentence in a case that began with their arrest on August 14, 2020.

PHOTO | COURTESY Man in cuffs

Tom Ouma and Ruth Atieno have been sentenced to 25 years plus a Ksh. 33,165,000 fine. Paul Achieng, the third defendant, was sentenced to 21 years in jail and a fine of Ksh. 33,165,000.

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On August 14, 2020, detectives from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) detained the three based on information.

According to a police report, the three were in a Toyota Noah heading to Nairobi when it stopped at the Gilgil weighbridge.

PHOTO | COURTESY The accused

The car had nine bags of a green dry plant suspected of holding drugs.

At the time of the arrests, Paul Ochieng was driving the car with Stephen Wandera, a Ugandan national, as a co-driver.

In a further operation combining police from ANU, TOCU, and SSU specialist units, two more suspects, Tom Ouma and his wife Ruth Atieno, were apprehended during a search of their residence in Utawala. 

PHOTO | COURTESY Bhang

 Investigators recovered Ksh.226,698, which was thought to be illegal profits and was stored as evidence.

After being weighed and analyzed, the drug bust weighed 368.5 kilograms and had an estimated street value of 11,055,000.

A warrant for arrest is still out for a Ugandan national.