When State turned blind eye to crime

In a special series timed to coincide with the latest installment of the KTN investigation into drug trafficking, we unveil some of the untold secrets of the so-called Armenian mercenaries.Government officials will not discuss whether international criminals were hired by mistake by individuals meddling in security contracts or whether the enforcers were hired on purpose to help drug smugglers.Nobody will speak openly about the Artur saga, in which foreign mercenaries allegedly hired to set up a secret police unit became a public embarrassment to the Government after a bungled raid on the Standard Group.The men arrived in the country just as plans were being made to test 1.1 metric tonnes of cocaine seized in Malindi and Nairobi two years earlier. When they drew too much anger with their airport gun drama, they were kicked out of the country.Speaking to United States embassy officials in March 2006, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka allegedly advanced the drug enforcer theory, but did not provide evidence to support it.