A suspect wanted in the US for trafficking wildlife and drugs has been arrested.
Abdi Hussein Ahmed, also known as Abu Khadi, was nabbed by detectives from the Serious Crimes Unit.
The suspect was detained in an early-morning raid in Maua, Meru County, where he was residing in a rented house, revealed DCI George Kinoti on Tuesday.
“This is after detectives received information on his whereabouts through the FichuakwaDCI anonymous hotline, 0800 722 203, and moved with speed to arrest the suspect,” said Kinoti in a statement.
Read: DPP Seeks Arrest, Extradition of Wanted Fugitive to the US
Ahmed is wanted in the United States after being named in an indictment alongside Moazu Kromah, alias “Ayoub,” Amara Cherif, alias “Bamba Issiaka,” and Mansur Mohamed Surur, alias “Mansour,” for taking part in a conspiracy to traffic rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, two protected wildlife species, both with a combined market value of more than $7 million.
In this, more than 100 elephants and 35 rhinoceros were illegally poached.
According to the DCI, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York charged Ahmed and his other co-conspirators with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
This came after a joint investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
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Following the capture of his accomplice Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, alias “Badro,” on May 31, one week after the U.S. Department of State announced a $1 million reward through the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) for information leading to Abdi Hussein Ahmed’s arrest and/or conviction for engaging in transnational organized crime, Ahmed was apprehended.
On May 26, Charge d’Affaires Eric Kneedler of the US Embassy in Nairobi and Kinoti urged anyone with information about the whereabouts of Abdi Hussein Ahmed and his accomplice Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, who were on INTERPOL’s Red Notice, to contact the relevant authorities.
Kromah, 49, Cherif, 54, Surur, 59, and Ahmed, 56, were allegedly involved in a transnational criminal organization operating out of Uganda and neighboring nations that engaged in the extensive trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory, two protected wildlife species, an indictment in a case currently being heard by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, shows.
SECOND FUGITIVE ON MOST WANTED LIST OF U.S & KENYAN AUTHORITIES ARRESTED
Detectives drawn from the Serious Crimes unit have today arrested Abdi Hussein Ahmed alias Abu Khadi, a suspect wanted in the United States, for wildlife and drug trafficking. pic.twitter.com/zlBg6Sh9vp
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) August 2, 2022
Authorities claim that between December 2012 and May 2019, Ahmed and his accomplices planned to smuggle at least 10 tons of elephant ivory and at least 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horn out of various East African nations, including Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, and into the United States and Southeast Asian nations.
Kinoti praised the general public for cooperating with security organizations in the battle against crime and urged even stronger future partnerships.
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