Chinese held over herbal drugs

A Chinese was arrested on Thursday night in possession of suspected illegal herbal pharmaceutical products.

Police nabbed the suspect at his home in Kilimani estate at around 7pm after a tip- off from the public, suspicious of the activities at the home.

Police netted over 100 cartons containing drugs branded ‘herbal HIV/Aids treatment,’ when they raided the home. TheStandard on Sunday could not establish the drugs' value.

At Kilimani Police Station, there was a truck with the pharmaceuticals packaged in cartons with officers from the Pharmacy and Poison’s Board conducting an inspection.

“There are drugs and packaging containers that suggest that the business was being conducted in the house. The drugswere everywhere including under the beds and many rooms in the house,” said Nairobi Police Commander Philip Ndolo.

Ndolo said police were still investigating the matter before pressing charges on the suspect, adding that officers from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board were assisting to establish contents in the packages.

An official from the board who spoke on anonymity said they would conduct an analysis and give an inventory.

"If they were manufacturing the drugs in the house, we shall press the charges," said the board officer.

At the police station, the suspect’s wife was seen alongside lawyer Ken Nyaecha as they applied for bail.

Nyaecha protested the move by police to withhold the suspect, claiming his client, who has been in the country for over 10 years, was willing to cooperate with the officers in the investigations.

He defended Tian as a renowned medical researcher and practitioner, who has made breakthroughs in herbal medicine and asked police to do proper background inquiry before condemning the suspect.