According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the seized narcotics, valued at approximately Ksh3.6 billion, belong to a separate trafficking syndicate from the Ksh8.2 billion shipment intercepted aboard a vessel in the Indian Ocean last year. Intelligence operations traced that earlier haul back to Iran.
Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin noted that distinct packaging styles between the two seizures confirmed they originated from different networks. The earlier operation yielded 1,036 kilogrammes of methamphetamine aboard the vessel MV Mashaallah, which authorities later destroyed at the Bamburi Cement Factory.
The Kwale operation kicked off on November 7 following coordinated intelligence sharing between Kenyan and Tanzanian security teams. Detectives tracked leads to Shirazi village, where they apprehended Basleman Saleh Khamis, whom the DCI identified as a high-profile drug trafficker wanted in both nations, alongside 37-year-old Ugandan national Nakabugo Zuraicah.
Interrogations led officers to a second location in Ganja la Simba village within Kinondo, where investigators uncovered the bulk consignment. Police arrested a third suspect at the site: 54-year-old Tanzanian national Hamad Seif Said.
During the raid, officers impounded key assets tied to the trafficking operation:
A white Ford station wagon (Registration KDY 626Z)
A white Ford pick-up (Registration KDZ 201A)
A red TVS motorcycle (Registration KMGT 230A)
All three suspects remain in police custody while detectives piece together the full scale of the regional network and track down the financiers funding the shipments.
Amin praised the seamless intelligence sharing between Kenyan and Tanzanian security services for enabling swift cross-border tracking.
Moving forward, the DCI is collaborating with the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to identify, freeze, and seize assets acquired through drug proceeds, including cash reserves, motor vehicles, residential properties, land parcels, and commercial enterprises.
Leave a Reply