The Kenya Navy and civilian authorities have intercepted a non-registered dhow and a tonne of methamphetamine (meth) with a street value of approximately Sh8.2 billion that officials believe was being smuggled into the country.
A gram of methamphetamine goes for Sh8,000 to Sh10,000. The meth packets were concealed in black polythene bag wrapped with a yellow tape labelled “100 per cent roasted and grounded Arabica coffee”.
The stateless dhow, christened “Igor”, had six crew of Iranian origin. It has been on the radar of international drug enforcement agencies and was slipping through crackdowns until the navy intercepted it in the Indian Ocean.
This is the second-largest haul of narcotics in terms of weight to have been seized by Kenyan authorities after the 1.1 tonnes of cocaine valued at Sh6 billion seized by the police in Nairobi and Malindi in 2006.
In 2014, a haul of more than 300 kilogrammes of heroin with a street value of Sh1.3 billion was seized. The vessel that had the drugs was later blown up off the coast of Mombasa.
Some of the six Iranian crew members under tight security after a seizure of narcotics aboard an Iranian Vessel worth Sh8.2billion some 650 km off the shore of Mombasa.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation Media Group
In the latest interception, the dhow was sighted some 630 kilometres to the east of Mombasa on Monday. After a “visit, board, search and seizure” operation, it was towed to the Kenyan coast two days later.
“The Kenya Navy, in collaboration with the Regional Coordination of Operations Centre (RCOC), successfully intercepted a vessel of interest code-named Igor suspected of involvement in narcotics trafficking,” said Brig Sankale Kiswaa, the Kenya Navy Deputy Commander.
Brig Kiswaa added that the crew of the dhow initially refused to respond to requests to slow down, forcing the soldiers' sailors to board it.
In an operation code-named Bahari Safi 2025.01 conducted under the RCOC 2025 Action Plan, the military deployed Kenya Navy Ship (KNS) Shupavu and a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft operated by the Seychelles Coast Guard.
KNS Shupavu towed the intercepted vessel, along with its crew, to the port of Mombasa, where it was handed over to the Kenya Police Service Anti-Narcotics Unit for further investigations and prosecution of the six.
A multi-agency team has since taken over the investigations with the intent of tracking down the drug barons and bringing them to book.
The operation conducted under the Safe Seas Africa (SSA) framework seeks to stress regional collaboration aimed at countering illicit maritime activities. It is conducted by a regional task force. The interception was necessitated by the realisation that the six crew members had declared their cargo as ice cubes though it was obviously a suspicious crystalline substance.
Court warrants for further inspection and testing have been obtained and the substance confirmed to be methamphetamine, weighing 1,024 kilogrammes.
The multi-agency team continues with the search, sampling, documenting the recovery and investigation, and preserving evidence for due judicial processing.
The operation was conducted in coordination with the RCOC in the Seychelles and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre based in Madagascar.
It provided actionable intelligence, while the Seychelles government provided a maritime patrol aircraft for surveillance and updates.
“The Kenya Navy, in collaboration with the relevant competent authorities, continues to ensure that the vessel, its cargo and crew are handled in strict compliance with legal and procedural safeguards necessary for successful prosecution and regional accountability,” Brig Kiswaa told journalists.
The operation is part of Kenya’s commitment to working with partners in combating transnational organised crime, protecting its maritime domain and upholding regional and international obligations in the Western Indian Ocean.
Kenya Anti-Narcotics Director Samuel Laboso said there has been a rise in methamphetamine peddling and consumption in the region, specifically because of the country’s strategic position on the southern route linking South America to South Africa and the rest of the world.
“There was a factory we busted in Namanga and another in Diani,” Mr Laboso said.
Anthony-Omerikwa
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse CEO Anthony Omerikwa says meth has been detected in some shisha establishments.
