Operation Mchele: Inside Kenyas drink spiking crisis

Operation Mchele: Inside Kenyas drink spiking crisis

A persons holds some of the pills used in stupefying revelers in Kenya's entertainment joints.

Drink spiking is a crime that has lately dominated national headlines with shocking revelations emerging of how one operative, now deceased, made booming business out of it. 

The criminal act involves someone putting alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink without their knowledge.

Kenyans call it ’Mchele’ in reference to rice-like pellets used by perpetrators of the crime and Citizen TV caught up with an informer and former insider, a lady who had been in the trade for over three years before quitting.

She takes us inside the dark world of the drink spiking menace and reveals how easily the drugs used are acquired from unscrupulous medical practitioners.

In Nairobi, this concrete jungle of opportunities that can serve an equal amount of perilous offerings, when darkness falls here, either end of the stick is game…

And in darkness, the drink spiking industry thrives.

Three weeks ago, a Nairobi man fell into a trap of a ‘Pishori’ lady as the drink spiking women are commonly known. It was during this year’s Labour Day celebrations when he and his friends decided to visit a pub along Kiambu Road to unwind.

“Tukikunywa nikaskia kuna joto nikaenda nje..wakati narudi kuna msichana alikuwa amekaa pekee nikaenda kujiintroduce tukaongea tukaanza kujuana…vile tulikuwa tunatoka tukateremka tukanunua chakula halafu nikampeleka kwenye alikuwa anaishi…hapo ndo nakumbuka last communication,” he narrates.

 Just like that, he lost consciousness for the next five days.

“Kwa memory yangu yote anything that happened on tuesday hadi friday sikumbuki….friday nilianza kukumbuka vitu zilianza kukumbuka vitu.”

In the CCTV footage of the bar he visited, a woman is seen approaching the counter of a food establishment along the same Kiambu road.

This is the woman he claims he was with on that day.

“I cannot tell because wakati tulitoka kwa place burudani…but nakumbuka tukienda place ya kununua chakula na place aliniambia aliishi…niliuma food na hapo ndo memory yangu ilipotea kabisa..nakumbuka tukiangaliana na miwani,” he said.

Rude shock befell him after he found out he had lost thousands of shillings transferred from his M-Pesa account. The  audacious suspect also took a Fuliza mobile loan through his phone.

“Niliona statement ya the last 5 transactions nilikuwa nimetumiwa kwanza shillingi 20 na a lacy na shillingi 2 na gentleman then kidogo naona nimetuma pesa mingi kwa huyo mtu alinitumia shillingi mbili.”

Jacob's ordeal is just one among many similar cases reported in various hanging joints within the city. He is however one of the few brave enough to come forward to share his experience and to report his experience to the authorities.

The sedative drugs, despite being categorized as those to be sold only on prescription, we find, can be easily accessed. With the help of a reformed 'Pishori' lady, we went undercover down the dark world of criminal activity.

We headed to a pharmacy in Embakasi, our mission here is to attempt to purchase a number of sedative drugs commonly used by these criminals.

The pharmacist tells us that they do not have Dormicum per our request, but offers Cozepam or Amitriptyline.

Amitriptyline, we are told, is “20 times better.” Our informer was not immediately given the controlled drug as the pharmacist on duty pressed with more inquiries.

They wanted to know who would be using it, and demanded a prescription, failure to which we would not be sold it.

But our informer made a phone call to an alleged supplier in the area. We hit the road and drove further to an area where our informer met with a person described as a notorious supplier.

Following closely behind him, we were led to a pharmacy that illegally sells the sedative drugs. The supplier who has been in the business for a long time advised on the best drug and how to effectively use it on unsuspecting victims for the best and instant result.

The drug in question is Dormicum.

“Hiyo ni kazuri na kama ako pombe katambeba haraka…kama hayuko pombe enda uweke mbili,” we were told.

They proceeded into this medical clinic in the area and after a short while we got what we wanted.

 “Ule ananiuzia 50 moja..si unaona venye ziko…ningekuwa wewe ningeenda niume zikuwe unga umwambie mnakula..ni vizuri ukiweka kwa chakula..unajua kama hayuko pombe enda utafune umwekee mbili zinamtosha.

“Ukiona hashiki na hizi vitu ujue ni mgonjwa…hazibebangi watu wa aids..lakini ukiweka kamoja hivi inatosha weka kabisa usijali…ukiweka pombe lazima itamwagika…lakini weka na ujanja…ukiona si mlevi vile enda umkulishe ata zote but nae atalala siku tatu lakini wewe usijali si bora utoke na kenye kiko…pombe ya machupa hataielewa.”

After giving our informer instructions on how to use it, she wished her luck and left.

Just like that, Dormicum one the drugs used as mchele was in our hands. From here, attractive women are usually deployed to execute the final operation of spiking the drinks of unsuspecting revellers.

“Kabla nireform hii kazi nilikuwa nimeifanya for three years…experience yangu ya kwanza ilikuwa club…na haikuwa na cctv…beshte yangu akaniambia hapa kuna wateja tumalizane na hii bishara sisi twende….katika harakati hizo tukaweka na tukapora,” our informer tells us.

The ‘Mchele’ ladies have mastered the art so well in the elaborate criminal scheme that they know how, where, and when to pounce on their victims.

“Club yenye iko na cctv hupatiani hapo ndani so unamconvince msee mwende kwa lodging…hapo atabuy drinks ndo umwekee kwa glass…ataendelea kunywa na atalala wewe unashika vitu zako unamaliza biashara.”

 

The drugs according to Dr. Daniella Munene, the vice President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) are very fast acting.

“As soon as you take the drink in about 5 mins you start feeling woozy…and it's already in your bloodstream  and not in your stomach..you can’t even vomit it out,” Dr. Munene says.

“If they use a very big dose on you it can lead to death.”

It is a case that befell Wilberforce Adaka, a resident of Kayole in Nairobi. He is lucky to have survived, but his ordeal is one he would almost rather forget.

“Niliingia club nikaanza kuburudika, in the process nikaita madam fulani tukaongea tukaanza kubadilishana mawazo…from there tukakunywa.

“At some point akasema hatuko mahali safe tuchukue room, tukaenda kwa room from there sikumbuki what happenned. Nilijipata referral hospital Eldoret,” Adaka narrates.

Dr. Munene says some people who are lucky enough to get to the hospital can have the situation handled.

“For some people, they were exposed to small amounts. People who don't go to hospital say they feel sedated even for days.”

Adaka, just like Jacob, lost all his belongings and money.

According to Dr. Munene, the drugs used by criminals are usually of the depressant nature. They work by slowing down your nervous system and dulling your responses. They make it harder for you to resist an assault.

One of them is Rohypnol or date rape pill, a prescription drug used to treat severe insomnia and assists in anaesthesia.It is a tranquilizer which can relieve tension and make you feel very relaxed.

Ketamine, sometimes called K, is meant to be used among veterinarians as an anesthetic for animals. Use of this drug creates an out of body experience which becomes more extreme the more you take of the drug

Midazolam, a drug marketed under the brand name Dormicum, is a powerful sedative.

Scopolamine, also known as Devil’s Breath, is said to have been commonly used in Colombia or Ecuador to remove a person’s free will, zombify them so to speak so that they can be assaulted or robbed freely.

It has been described as the world's scariest drug because of how victims have been convinced instantly to empty their bank accounts or hand over their keys to their apartments and vehicles.

“Why these drugs are becoming more and more available is because that type of crime is increasing. Number 2, not all pharmacists are practicing ethically,” says Dr. Munene.

The Poisons and Pharmacy Board (PPB), a body mandated to regulate the drugs, says it is not aware of the illicit use of the drugs in the market.

While responding to our queries, PPB said nevertheless it has heightened its surveillance with a view to getting to the root of the matter.

“Sometimes they crackdown on the illegal pharmacists and when they leave that place, those outlets open the following week because if they are going around the country by the time they go back to that same region those people will have done a lot of things. They can do a lot better,” says Dr. Munene.

Outlets selling the drugs without prescription and those found in the possession have been warned by the pharmacy and poisons board of dire consequences which includes a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or both.

On May 16, Samuel Mugo Mugota was shot and killed in broad daylight in the Kasarani area of Nairobi. Police linked his killing to the stupefying business within the area.

They also acknowledged big problems in Kasarani and some other major clubs. Almost every weekend, police noted, they record a case of drugging.

Some 12 women were identified by police officers in connection with the case where the slain Mugo is said to have been deploying to spike their targets' drinks.

The victims who spoke to us say the Nairobi night life has taught them the hard way that not all that glitters is gold. The painful lessons ring every time the thought of visiting entertainment joints cross their mind.

In the meantime, revelers have been warned by authorities to carefully scrutinize strangers when out in entertainment joints, always have a friend watching over your food and drinks and never exceed your alcohol limit.   

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Drink spiking Mchele

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