DCI seizes Sh3.6bn drug haul, arrests suspected Kenya-Tanzania kingpin

Detectives have intercepted a suspected methamphetamine consignment weighing 454 kilogrammes and estimated to be worth Sh3.6 billion in Kwale County, arresting three suspects, including a suspected drug trafficker wanted in both Kenya and Tanzania.

The haul was recovered during an intelligence-led operation on November 7, following cooperation between Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies to track down the suspected trafficking network.

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said the operation began with the arrest of two suspects in Shirazi village before detectives pursued additional leads to Ganja la Simba village in Kinondo, where the drugs were found and another suspect arrested.

The suspects were identified as Basleman Saleh Khamis, whom Amin described as a notorious drug baron wanted in Kenya and Tanzania over narcotics trafficking; Nakabugo Zuraicah, a 37-year-old Ugandan woman; and Hamad Seif Said, a 54-year-old Tanzanian national.

Khamis and Zuraicah were arrested first, with Said apprehended during the subsequent search that led to the recovery of the suspected drugs.

Detectives also impounded three vehicles linked to the operation: a white Ford station wagon, a white Ford pickup and a red TVS motorcycle.

The three suspects remain in police custody as investigators work to establish the full extent of the trafficking operation and track down other people who may have been involved.

The latest recovery adds to a series of major drug seizures by Kenyan authorities, coming weeks after 1,036 kilogrammes of methamphetamine were recovered from the vessel MV Mashaallah in the Indian Ocean.

The drugs, estimated to be worth Sh8.2 billion, were destroyed on September 24 at Bamburi Cement Factory in Mombasa.

Amin credited the successful Kwale operation to intelligence cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, pointing to the “seamless real-time exchange of intelligence” with Tanzanian authorities as a key factor in the recovery.

He also outlined changes within the DCI aimed at strengthening the country’s response to drug trafficking, including the formation of the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB), which took over from the former Anti-Narcotics Unit.

The bureau has since recruited 208 officers in April, opened 40 additional stations and trained 314 officers in specialised drug investigations.

Figures released by Amin show that between January and October 2026, NANIB recovered narcotics valued at Sh779.6 million and arrested 1,631 suspects.

The seizures during the period comprised 21,005 kilogrammes of cannabis, 10.23 kilogrammes of cocaine, 7.74 kilogrammes of heroin, 7.67 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 4.8 kilogrammes of amphetamine.

Beyond making arrests and intercepting drugs, investigators are also pursuing the financial networks behind the trade in an effort to dismantle the businesses and resources used to sustain trafficking operations.

Amin said the DCI was working with the Asset Recovery Agency to trace suspected proceeds of crime, including cash, motor vehicles, houses, land and businesses.

“Our focus is not only on apprehending couriers but also on identifying and pursuing the financiers and organisers who sustain these criminal enterprises,” he said.

He called on members of the public to provide information that could assist law enforcement agencies in identifying and disrupting drug networks.

Amin said the government was determined to prevent Kenya from being used as a transit corridor, a market for illegal drugs or a refuge for traffickers.