Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, on Monday said the 454 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine recovered in Kwale County, were destined for some East African and Southern African countries, as preliminary investigations point to Pakistan as the source.
Briefing journalists at the Coast Region Police Headquarters in Mombasa, alongside the Regional Security Team, Amin said the drugs, valued at about Sh3.6 billion, were recovered after an intelligence-led operation by a Multi-agency team, led by detectives of the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB).
Intelligence shared between Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities, led to the arrest on November 7 of Basleman Saleh Khamis, a suspected drug baron, wanted in both countries, and a 37-year-old Ugandan woman, Nakabugo Zuraicah, in Shirazi village.
Further leads, took detectives to Ganja la Simba village in Kinondo, where they recovered the drugs and arrested a third suspect, Hamad Seif Said, a 54-year-old Tanzanian.
Detectives also seized two white Ford vehicles and a red TVS motorcycle. The suspects remain in custody as detectives pursue further leads, to establish the full extent of the network and identify other accomplices.
Amin said the confiscation linked to the 1,036 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from the vessel, MV Mashaallah, did not correlate.
“The actors are very, very different,” he said, citing differences in the labelling, packaging and nationalities involved.
He said the Mashaallah consignment came from Iran, while this one appears to have originated in Pakistan. The Mashaallah haul, valued at Sh 8.2 billion and the second largest methamphetamine recovery in Kenya’s history, was destroyed at Bamburi Cement Factory in Mombasa on September 24.
Amin said the government has declared the fight against narcotics and illicit alcohol a national security priority.
NANIB, formerly the Anti-Narcotics Unit, recruited 208 officers in April, opened 40 additional stations and trained 314 officers.
Between January and October this year, he said, NANIB recovered 21,005.54 kilograms of cannabis, 10.23 kilograms of cocaine, 7.74 kilograms of heroin, 7.67 kilograms of methamphetamine and 4.8 kilograms of amphetamine, with a combined value of about Sh779.7 million. A total of 1,631 suspects were arrested.
Amin said investigators are also working with the Asset Recovery Agency, to trace the cash, vehicles, land and businesses of financiers and organisers.
“Kenya is not a transit route. Kenya is not a market. And Kenya will not be a haven for drug traffickers,” Amin said, urging the public to share information with law enforcement agencies.
On security, Amin said the police have a festive season operation plan and have embedded a national security plan for the August 2027 General Election.
Senior commanders were taken through election preparedness manuals at the National Police Leadership Academy on October 22 and 23, and the training will be cascaded to station level.
By Joan Kinuthia
