Wanted tycoon Ali Punjani admitted in Indian hospital – aide
Mombasa-based businessman Ali Punjani, who is being hunted by police for drug trafficking, is in India where he claims to have recently undergone an open- heart surgery.
Punjani claims to have left the country on August 6 for India where he was referred after preliminary checks at The Heart Lung Diagnostic Centre in Mombasa.
“The above patient (Mr Punjani) was admitted on July 29, 2019 following a heart attack/acute coronary syndrome. An angiogram done showed significant CAD with blocked coronary arteries.
“This is not amenable with angioplasty and he has been advised to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting urgently. This has been arranged at the Asian Heart Institute for next week,” a letter from the diagnostic centre reads.
The letter was shared by Mr Punjani’s personal assistant Kakawat Pankaj.
The hunt for the businessman comes after Interior Secretary Fred Matiang’i launched an intensive war on drugs in the coast region.
“We are commencing an unprecedented effort to deal with this issue of drug peddling. It is going to be a painful exercise, but we are prepared to start the journey,” Matiang’i said
On Monday Police raided his home at the shores of Indian Ocean but found no one at home.
Punjani is a close associate of brothers Akasha brothers, Baktash and Ibrahim, who are awaiting sentencing in New York over an elaborate drug network in East Africa, Afghanistan, Europe and the United States.
The Two Akasha brothers in October 2018 pleaded guilty to six counts of drug trafficking before a US court.