Kenyan police announced the seizure of 454 kg (1,000 lb) of methamphetamine, valued at an estimated $27 million, in an operation targeting international drug trafficking networks. The haul, one of the largest in Kenya’s history, was uncovered at a site in Msambweni on the Kenyan coast following an intelligence‑led operation involving Kenyan anti‑narcotics officers and their Tanzanian counterparts.
Three suspects – two Tanzanians and a Ugandan – were arrested at the Kenyan coast, while a total of seven suspects, five Tanzanians and two Ugandans, were detained in the two locations. The four suspects in Kenya are currently in custody and due to be arraigned in court, with the recovered narcotics and seized items kept as exhibits.
The investigation began after a key suspect was arrested in Tanzania last week and handed over to Kenyan authorities at the border. The suspect, linked to a separate seizure of 299 kg of suspected methamphetamine and heroin in Tanzania, led officers to the Msambweni location. Police also seized two motor vehicles and a motorcycle during the operation.
Aretas Lyimo, head of Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Authority, said initial questioning indicated that the drugs found in Tanzania had come through the Kenyan port of Mombasa. He added that investigations suggested some of those arrested were key figures in an international drug trafficking network operating across several countries, including Afghanistan, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the UAE.
The operation remains ongoing, and police urged the public to share information that will help tackle drug trafficking. Last month, Kenya’s Deputy President Kithure Kindiki declared illicit alcohol and drug abuse to be among the country’s top threats, warning that the government would introduce tougher laws and intensify nationwide operations.
In a separate operation last month, authorities destroyed more than a tonne of methamphetamine from a consignment intercepted by the Kenyan navy about 630 km off the Mombasa coast. The Institute for Security Studies has warned of a shift in East Africa’s role in international drug trafficking, noting the region’s coastline is increasingly becoming an entry point for manufactured drugs intended for local consumption.
