Beware: Your drink could be spiked

Police are warning revellers of a gang out to spike drinks this festive season.

The criminals, who move in groups, purchase the drugs from chemists without prescription.

A spot check in chemists shows 14 tablets of Stilnox 10 mg retails at Sh480 and its generic-Nirest or Zolpidem retails at between Sh10 and Sh20 per tablet.

“We are currently amending legislation to increase fines and make them more punitive and deterrent against offenders,” said Pharmacy and Poisons Board CEO Fred Siyoi.

A pharmacist found selling the drug to an individual without prescription pays a fine of between Sh5,000 and Sh100,000.

Head of Anti-Narcotic Police Unit Hamisi Masa said revelers should be alert when enjoying themselves in major towns.

The criminals ask one of them to strike a conversation with a reveller before they lace the drink with a drug.

Recently, police in Kiambu County arrested two women suspected to be behind drugging and stealing from revelers in clubs in Thika town. The detectives found the suspects in possession of Stilnox tablets and SIM cards registered in different names that they use to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts.

Two held

“Detectives working on intelligence today arrested two women in Thika for drugging unsuspecting victims before robbing them. Several tablets of Stilnox used to stupefy people in clubs and several SIM cards were recovered,” said the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti on his twitter account.

This saw people who had fallen victims throng Kirwara Police Station in Gatanga where the suspects were being held to identify and record statements.

The two were charged with stealing and stupefying before Kandara Law Courts and were released on Sh500,000 bond after pleading not guilty.

One reveller revealed how he was druggedin a club in Kaharate town. Duncan Githae said he lost Sh13,000, a phone worth Sh79,000 which they used to borrow Sh22,000 from his M-Shwari account and also borrowed undisclosed amount of loan from his bank account using his phone.

They also took off with his car and dumped it at Kenol town.

Ruiru OCPD James Ng’etich says spiking of drinks was rampant in some clubs along the Eastern bypass and Ruiru town. He said the gang of women who could be operating in cohorts with men change their operations to avoid being detected.