Kenya: Suspected drug and endangered cash trafficker arrested

General view of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya (illustration image).

Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images

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He is accused of being part of a network smuggling rhino horns, elephant ivory and heroin from several African countries to the United States.

Last week, the US State Department announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest.

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With our regional correspondent in Nairobi

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He had been off the radar since the summer of 2019, almost three years.

At the time, Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, alias "Badro", was arrested in his country, Kenya, for drug trafficking and then released on bail.

At the same time, an investigation is open in the United States.

It leads in 2021 to his indictment.

According to the indictment, he is accused of having taken part in a traffic aimed at smuggling into the United States at least 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horn and ten tons of elephant ivory.

All for a value of more than seven million dollars.

He is also accused of having attempted to sell more than ten kilograms of heroin to a buyer in New York.

His run ended on Monday in Liboi, Garissa County, northeastern Kenya.

According to the Chargé d'Affaires at the United States Embassy in Nairobi, the arrest was made possible by information received after the United States promised a handsome reward in exchange.

Currently in custody in Nairobi, Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh should be extradited to the United States.

It's an important catch, but the hunt continues because another Kenyan, his alleged accomplice, Abdi Hussein Ahmed, is still at large.

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