KWALE, County—Detectives have seized 454 kilogrammes of suspected methamphetamine valued at approximately Sh3.6 billion in Kwale County, arresting three suspects, including a fugitive wanted by security agencies in Kenya and Tanzania over alleged involvement in narcotics trafficking.
The intelligence-led operation, conducted jointly by Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies, culminated in arrests in Shirazi and Kinondo areas of Kwale County.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director Mohamed Amin said the operation began on November 7, 2026, with the arrest of Basleman Saleh Khamis, who is wanted in both countries over suspected involvement in drug trafficking.
Detectives also arrested a 37-year-old Ugandan woman, Nakabugo Zuraicah, in Shirazi village.
Further investigations led officers to Ganja la Simba village in Kinondo, where a targeted search uncovered the consignment of suspected methamphetamine and resulted in the arrest of a third suspect, Hamad Seif Said, a 54-year-old Tanzanian national.
The operation also resulted in the seizure of two motor vehicles and a motorcycle believed to be linked to the suspected trafficking network.
The vehicles included a white Ford station wagon, registration number KDY 626Z, and a white Ford pickup, registration number KDZ 201A. Detectives also impounded a red TVS motorcycle, registration number KMGT 230A.
Amin said the three suspects remained in custody as investigations continued, with detectives pursuing additional leads to establish the extent of the trafficking network and identify other individuals involved.
The Kwale seizure comes amid an intensified crackdown on narcotics trafficking along Kenya’s coastline, weeks after authorities destroyed more than one tonne of methamphetamine recovered from a vessel in the Indian Ocean.
In a wider account of the crackdown, the DCI reported that recoveries during the period had a combined value of Sh779.6 million, alongside the arrest of 1,631 suspects.
Authorities are also pursuing convictions and targeting the financial networks sustaining the illegal trade.
In Iten, a drug trafficking suspect was sentenced to pay a Sh24 million fine or serve 10 years in prison after being convicted over the trafficking of 266.2 kilogrammes of cannabis valued at Sh7.9 million.
In a separate case, the High Court upheld the sentences imposed on three people convicted in 2025 by the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court for trafficking 871.8 kilogrammes of cannabis.
The DCI said it was working with the Asset Recovery Agency to identify and trace proceeds of drug trafficking, including cash, vehicles, houses, land and businesses.
Amin said investigators were shifting focus beyond couriers to the financiers and organisers behind the criminal networks.
“We are not only targeting those transporting drugs but also the financiers and organisers who sustain these criminal enterprises,” he said.
He urged members of the public to share information with law enforcement agencies, saying community cooperation remained critical in identifying and dismantling drug trafficking networks.
