Kenyan police have seized 454kg (1,000lb) of methamphetamine worth an estimated $27m (£20m) in an operation targeting international drug trafficking networks.
Three suspects, two Tanzanians and a Ugandan, were arrested at the Kenyan coast following an intelligence-led operation involving Kenyan anti-narcotics officers and their Tanzanian counterparts.
Police said the investigations began after a key suspect was arrested in Tanzania last week and handed over to Kenyan authorities at the border.
Methamphetamine, commonly known as meth, is a harmful illegal synthetic drug that is highly addictive and can lead to severe psychosis, heart attack or stroke.
The haul is one of the largest drug seizures in Kenya’s history.
The suspect, who was allegedly linked to a separate seizure of 299kg of suspected methamphetamine and heroin in Tanzania, led officers to a location in Msambweni on the Kenyan coast, where the drug haul was discovered.
Police made further arrests at the site and seized two motor vehicles and a motorcycle.
Aretas Lyimo, head of Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), says initial questioning indicated that the drugs found in Tanzania had come through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
He added that investigations suggested that 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 UAE.
A total of seven suspects were arrested in the two locations, five Tanzanians and two Ugandans, he said.
The four suspects in Kenya are currently in custody and due to be arraigned in court, while the recovered narcotics and the seized items are being kept as exhibits.
The police say the operation remains ongoing and urged members of the public to 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.
He warned that the government would introduce tougher laws and intensify nationwide operations to deal with the menace.
In a separate operation last month, authorities destroyed more than a tonne of methamphetamine from a consignment intercepted last year by the Kenyan navy about 630km (390 miles) off the Mombasa coast.
The Institute for Security Studies, a think-tank, has warned of a shift in East Africa’s role in international drug trafficking.
It says the region’s coastline is increasingly becoming not just a transit route for drugs destined for other markets but also an entry point for manufactured drugs intended for local consumption. (BBC News)