A Member of County Assembly (MCA) who was earlier in the week arrested over claims of participating in drug trafficking in Mombasa county has been set free for lack of evidence.
Bofu MCA Ahmed Salama Omar was arrested on Monday, alongside 18 others, after the Interior ministry declared war on drug dealing operations in the area.
He was on Tuesday arraigned before Mombasa Magistrate Edgar Kagoni, who said that the prosecution failed to provide enough proof to nail the county lawmaker.
The court further dismissed the prosecution's request to have the accused remanded for three more days as it conducts investigations, according to the Citizen Digital.
Justice Kagoni argued that the accused had presented himself to the police prior, which gave the investigators enough time to conduct the said required investigations.
His arrest came only a days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi ranked the drug trade among the factors behind the reemergence of criminal gangs in the county.
This follows the reemergence of groups like Wajukuu Wa Bibi, Wakali Kwanza and Wakali Wao, which have been harassing and assaulting residents, especially in Bamburi area.
Matiangi has as well vowed to suppress the groupings, which have been attacking using knives and machetes.