A new fleet of vehicles has been handed to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) by the United Kingdom to help investigators track and disrupt criminal networks involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other cross-border crimes.
The vehicles were handed over at DCI headquarters in Nairobi on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in a ceremony attended by DCI Director Mohamed I. Amin and British High Commissioner to Kenya Matt Baugh OBE.
The event also saw Kenya and the UK sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), followed by the official flagging off of the vehicles for deployment.
The support was provided through the British High Commission under the East Africa Border Security Programme (BSP), a multi-year initiative funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The programme works with governments, law enforcement agencies, communities and civil society groups to improve border security, disrupt organised immigration crime and strengthen protection for victims of trafficking and smuggling.
The vehicles will support the DCI’s specialised Counter Organised Immigration Crime Team, which focuses on criminal groups involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling, travel document fraud and other offences that cross national borders.
The assistance comes weeks after the DCI launched the specialised team, described as the first of its kind in East Africa. The 29-member unit was officially flagged off on July 24, 2026, after undergoing specialised training before being deployed to strategic border stations across the country.
The creation of the team comes amid growing concern over criminal networks using border routes and migration systems to facilitate illegal movement of people and other organised offences.
Speaking during the handover, Baugh said the new vehicles would give investigators the capacity to reach areas where such criminal networks operate.
“Organised immigration crime is a shared threat. It exploits the most vulnerable, undermines lawful migration and funds wider organised crime. The United Kingdom is proud to stand with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the National Police Service. These vehicles will give the Counter Organised Immigration Crime Team the reach it needs to investigate, intercept and dismantle those networks. Partnership only matters if it produces results on the ground — safer borders, protected victims and successful prosecutions. That is the standard we will hold ourselves to together.”
The High Commissioner also praised Kenyan investigators for their professionalism and reaffirmed Britain’s long-term support for the East Africa Border Security Programme.
The programme is being implemented with partners including Mercy Corps and Valar. In Kenya, its work is focused on building the capacity of law enforcement agencies, disrupting organised immigration crime and improving protection for people at risk of trafficking and smuggling.
Amin described the handover as an important step in the long-running security partnership between Kenya and the UK.
He said cases involving trafficking, migrant smuggling and fraudulent travel documents were becoming more complex, making cooperation between security agencies and other stakeholders increasingly important.
The DCI boss also stressed the need for intelligence sharing and joint operations to tackle criminal networks that operate across national boundaries.
He said the vehicles would enable the Counter Organised Immigration Crime Team to respond faster to cases and carry out field investigations more efficiently.
According to Amin, the additional resources would strengthen investigators’ ability to identify, investigate and break up criminal networks operating both within Kenya and beyond its borders.
He further assured the UK government and other partners that the vehicles would be used responsibly and effectively to support investigations, protect vulnerable people and help secure prosecutions against suspected offenders.
The DCI expressed its appreciation to the British government, the British High Commission and other implementing partners for their continued assistance in strengthening Kenya’s law enforcement capacity.
The vehicles were later flagged off in the presence of officials including Ben Fisher from the border security programme and Joaana Oser from Valar.
The handover comes as Kenya and its international partners continue efforts to tighten border security and improve cooperation in dealing with organised immigration crime and criminal networks operating across jurisdictions.
The DCI said the new fleet represents a renewed commitment to protecting Kenya’s borders, safeguarding vulnerable communities and supporting regional efforts against transnational organised crime.