A badly damaged Mazda CX-5 could now hold crucial clues in a suspected drug trafficking investigation after its driver fled the scene, leaving behind 241.5 kilogrammes of suspected bhang worth Sh7.245 million.

What looked like a road accident along the busy Nakuru-Nairobi Highway has opened a very different line of inquiry for detectives.

The vehicle, a Mazda CX-5 registration number KDW 640U, was badly damaged after crashing between Shinners Boys and the Mbaruk area on Monday, September 21, 2026.

But while the driver disappeared, the vehicle remained behind.

And when officers from Nakuru Central Police Station began processing the crash scene, they discovered six sacks containing suspected cannabis sativa, commonly known as bhang.

The narcotics weighed 241.5 kilogrammes and had an estimated street value of Sh7,245,000, according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Why the abandoned Mazda matters

The immediate focus of the investigation is now likely to extend beyond the drugs themselves.

The abandoned SUV could provide detectives with information that may help establish who was transporting the consignment, where the journey began and who may have been expecting the drugs.

Police have not publicly established who owns the Mazda or whether its registered owner is the same person who was driving it when the crash occurred.

That distinction could become important as detectives attempt to reconstruct the journey.

The vehicle may also help investigators piece together the circumstances surrounding the suspected transportation of the narcotics.

For now, however, those questions remain unanswered.

What is established is that the driver fled after the collision and that the six sacks were discovered when officers processed the wreckage.

How the crash happened

According to preliminary investigations cited by the DCI, the Mazda was travelling from Nakuru towards Nairobi when its driver attempted to overtake another vehicle.

The driver subsequently lost control and collided with an oncoming Scania trailer.

The impact caused the SUV to spin and extensively damaged its front section.

The driver then abandoned the wreckage and fled before officers could arrest him.

That decision left behind both the damaged vehicle and its unusual cargo.

Six sacks change the investigation

When officers searched the Mazda during processing of the accident scene, they discovered six sacks containing suspected bhang.

The total weight was 241.5kg, with the DCI putting the estimated street value at Sh7,245,000.

The discovery transformed the case from a traffic accident into a narcotics investigation.

Detectives from the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB) in Nakuru have since taken over the case and secured the recovered narcotics as exhibits.

The driver remains at large and a manhunt is under way.

The questions detectives now need to answer

The biggest mystery may no longer be what was inside the Mazda.

Police already have the answer to that.

The bigger questions are who was behind the consignment and where it was supposed to go.

Investigators will need to establish the source of the suspected bhang, its intended destination and whether other people were involved in transporting it.

The circumstances surrounding the abandoned vehicle could also become significant.

Why did the driver leave the scene?

Was the driver the vehicle's owner?

Who had control of the Mazda before the crash?

And who was supposed to receive the consignment?

None of those questions has been publicly answered by investigators.

They therefore remain part of the wider inquiry rather than established facts.

DCI launches manhunt

The DCI has appealed to members of the public who may have information capable of helping investigators trace the driver.

Members of the public can provide information through the DCI toll-free number 0800 722 203 or WhatsApp number 0709 570 000.

The damaged Mazda and the recovered narcotics remain key exhibits as NANIB detectives continue their investigation.

For now, the most important piece of evidence may not be the six sacks sitting in police custody.

It may be the Mazda CX-5 that the fleeing driver left behind.

If detectives can establish the vehicle's movements, ownership and connection to the suspect, the abandoned SUV could provide the first trail leading beyond the 241.5kg consignment and towards the people investigators believe may have been involved.

The investigation remains ongoing.