A multi-agency team comprising the Kenya Navy, Anti-Narcotics Unit, Kenya Coast Guard, and NACADA on Saturday, October 25, intercepted a consignment of synthetic methamphetamine worth Ksh8.2 billion.
The vessel was intercepted 630 kilometers east of Mombasa in the Indian Ocean and escorted to the port of Mombasa.
In a statement, the National Police Service (NPS) said the vessel was intercepted following a seizure order obtained on Friday, October 24.
The multi-agency team searched the vessel and discovered 769 packages of methamphetamine weighing 1,024 kilograms stacked in sacks.
“Following the interception of a vessel suspected of ferrying drugs, a search and seizure order was obtained yesterday. Consequently, today, 25 October 2025, officers from the National Police Service conducted a search of the vessel and discovered 769 packages of methamphetamine with an estimated value of Ksh 8.2 billion,” read the statement in part.
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During the operation, six Iranian nationals were arrested and taken into custody, while the consignment was seized and secured as evidence.
The suspects include: Jasem Darzadeh, Nadeem Jadgal, Imran Baloch, Hassan Baloch, Rahim Bakshi, and Imtiaz Daryayi.
The foreign nationals are expected to be arraigned in court on Monday, October 26, over drug trafficking.
The vessel was on the radar of the international community for suspected involvement in drug trafficking before it was intercepted.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has since launched investigations to determine the source and intended destination of 769 packages of methamphetamine
“Investigations are underway to determine the source and intended destination of 769 packages containing a crystalline substance, identified as methamphetamine. The seized narcotics have an estimated street value of Ksh 8.2 billion,” DCI stated.
Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant that is usually manufactured in illegal laboratories. The drug lets people stay awake and do continuous activity with less need for sleep.
It is made as pills, powders, or chunky crystals called ice and can be swallowed, sniffed, smoked, or injected.
This comes weeks after DCI detectives apprehended a Kenyan woman en route to Dubai with pellets of Cocaine.
The sleuths preliminarily established that she was trafficking it to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the DCI, the lady, named Anna Nekesa Kisaka, was awaiting take-off when an officer intercepted her and insisted on a seprate screening.
She was found to have swallowed three pellets of the substance in a bid to cheat the officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
"Acting on instinct and intelligence, flagged her for an additional screening. Their suspicions were correct; scans revealed she was carrying the illicit cargo inside her," the DCI said in a statement.
The 41-year-old was later placed under the watch of detectives and medical specialists and made to excrete the substances. She was thereafter arrested and taken into custody.
