Omanghana
Kenyan authorities have seized 454 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $27 million, or approximately KSh3.6 billion, following a cross-border investigation involving Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies.
The drugs were recovered during a multi-agency operation in Ganja la Simba village, Kinondo, in Kenya’s coastal Kwale County, on Saturday, November 7, 2026.
The substance is awaiting laboratory confirmation, while authorities continue to investigate its origin and intended destination.
Cross-border investigation
The operation followed intelligence shared by Tanzanian authorities after a suspect was arrested in Tanzania and handed over to Kenyan investigators.
Officers pursued further leads in Kwale County, eventually locating the suspected drugs. Among those arrested during the investigation were two Tanzanian nationals and a Ugandan.
Police also confiscated two motor vehicles and a motorcycle believed to be connected to the alleged trafficking operation. The suspects remain in custody as investigators seek to identify others who may have been involved.
Suspected international network
Speaking to journalists in Mombasa on Monday, November 9, Kenya’s Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, described the seizure as a significant step in efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks.
Amin said preliminary inquiries suggested that the shipment may have originated in Pakistan and was intended for markets in East and Southern Africa. Authorities are working to establish the full extent of the network.
Tanzanian officials have also said the suspected trafficking operation has links to several countries, including Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa, as well as the United Arab Emirates.
Amin said Kenya was strengthening cooperation with regional partners and pursuing the financiers and organizers behind illicit drug operations.
Earlier seizure treated as separate case
The latest recovery comes after Kenyan authorities destroyed a separate shipment of more than one tone of methamphetamine in September 2026. The consignment had been intercepted by the Kenyan Navy in 2025.
Amin said investigators had found no connection between the earlier maritime seizure and the drugs recovered in Kwale.
The operation has renewed attention on East Africa’s role in international drug trafficking, with security experts warning that the region is increasingly an entry point for drugs intended for local consumption as well as a transit route to other markets.
Source: Omanghana
