Seizure of Sh3.6b drug haul in Msambweni puts Coast trafficking routes in focus

A multi-agency operation on the Coast has seized 454 kilogrammes of suspected methamphetamine worth Sh3.6 billion, putting Kenya back in the spotlight as a transit point for international drug syndicates. The latest seizure comes a year after similar drugs worth Sh8.2 billion were seized near the Kenyan Coast in October 2025.

Yesterday's operation, which was led by the Coast team of the National Anti-Narcotics Bureau (NANB), also saw the arrest of two Tanzanian nationals and a Ugandan woman from houses in a remote village of Kinondo and Shirazi in Kwale County's Msambweni constituency.

Police said the operation followed intelligence linking the suspects to a separate seizure of 259 kilogrammes of suspected methamphetamine and cocaine in Tanzania.

The operation, according to a security agency, began when Tanzanian authorities arrested Saleh Khamis, 45, on November 5, 2026, over alleged drug trafficking. He was handed over to Kenyan police, who questioned him. He gave two locations, which led officers to the arrests and the latest haul.

“The suspect led the team to Shirazi and Ganja La Simba in Msambweni, where the trail led to the residential premises of a second accomplice,” a police statement said.  At Ganja La Simba village in Kinondo Location, Msambweni Sub-County, officers found the 454 kilogrammes of drugs.

“In addition to the massive drug haul, two motor vehicles and one motorcycle were seized. The four suspects are in custody, while recovered narcotics and the seized items are secured as exhibits,” the National Police Service (NPS) said.

Police have described the seizure as a major win in the war on drugs, but questions remain over how such consignments are shipped into Kenya before being moved on to neighbouring countries.

The seizure came about six weeks after top security chiefs oversaw the destruction of a tonne of similar drugs worth Sh8.2 billion in Mombasa. On September 25, 2026, at the Bamburi Cement facility, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen vowed to end drug trafficking through the Coast.

CS Murkomen said the government is committed to disrupting criminal networks involved in the movement of illicit drugs through Kenya’s maritime routes.  Government critics like former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Nyali MP Mohamed Ali accuse the government of issuing empty threats against drug traffickers.

The Sh8.2 billion haul was found inside a stateless dhow, the MV Mashallah, which Kenya Navy Ship Shupavu intercepted about 630 kilometres off the Mombasa coast. Six Iranian national crew members, Jaseem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Hassan Baloch, Imran Baloch, Raheem Baksh, and Imtiyaz Daryay, were arrested.

Court records show that part of the last haul was stolen from a Kenya Navy warehouse in Mombasa. Eight naval personnel were arrested on December 11, 2025, after digital footprints and searches of their homes turned up packages of a crystalline substance.

The officers, Duke Nyarige, Juma Mwinyifaki, Michael Kariuki, Elijah Mbogo, James Ekiru, Abdulrehman Jara, Abdirahman Kuno and Peter Tonui, were charged over 25 kilogrammes valued at Sh192 million, and each was freed on a Sh500,000 bond.

The matter has since been proceeding before the Shanzu Law Courts, where the Chief Magistrate Antony Mwicig issued an order authorising the destruction of the seized narcotic consignment. The dhow remains secured alongside Mkunguni Jetty under the custody of the Kenya Navy.

Yesterday, we did not establish whether the two consignments are linked, but security analysts say the Coast is a major global transit hub because of its location, weak maritime enforcement and widespread corruption.

The route has earned the nickname “Smack Track” for moving narcotics from Afghanistan and Pakistan towards Europe. Reports indicate cartels shifted to it after tighter security operations on the traditional Balkan route and because of conflicts in the Middle East.

According to those reports, large dhows, luxury yachts and cargo ships offload drugs onto small speedboats off the Kenyan coast, and the consignments are then slipped out through porous borders. Reports by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration also describe the Kenyan Coast as a key entry point for South American cocaine headed to Africa, Europe and North America.

On land, the Lunga Lunga-Horohoro border is a known weak spot, and security sources say the Taveta-Holili crossing is also notorious for drugs and counterfeit goods.  A security officer who spoke to The Standard said the panya routes of Chala, Kitoi and Lasisa are among the busiest.

“The panya routes of Chala, Kitoi and Lasisa are the most prominent drug and counterfeit routes. Traffickers use women and boda boda riders to do their dirty jobs. They are known by security officials who have entered into an unholy alliance with the traffickers to allow the illicit trade on Wednesday and Friday nights,” the officer said.

Analysts say cartels rely on compromised border officials and police officers to get past checks, clear cargo and win protection. Along the sea, thousands of kilometres of poorly monitored coastline, mangrove creeks and private landing sites give criminal networks room to offload.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime and the Organised Crime Index say the trade is heavily helped by local corruption.