KWALE, Kenya — A Ugandan woman is among three suspects arrested in Kenya following the seizure of 454 kilogrammes of suspected methamphetamine valued at approximately KSh3.6 billion (US$27 million) in a cross-border anti-narcotics operation.
The 37-year-old woman, identified by Kenyan authorities as Nakabugo Zuraicah, was arrested in Shirazi village, Kwale County, alongside a Tanzanian national during an intelligence-led operation involving Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies.
A third suspect, also a Tanzanian national, was arrested later in Ganja La Simba village in Kinondo, where detectives recovered the suspected narcotics.
According to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the operation followed the arrest of a suspected drug trafficker in Tanzania, who was subsequently handed over to Kenyan authorities at the Lunga Lunga-Horohoro border crossing.
Information obtained from the suspect led investigators to Shirazi village, where they arrested Nakabugo and another suspected accomplice.
Further investigations took officers to Ganja La Simba, where they recovered the 454 kilogrammes of suspected drugs and arrested the third suspect.
Vivid Voice News identified the other two suspects as Basleman Saleh Khamis and Hamad Seif Said, both Tanzanian nationals.
Detectives also seized two motor vehicles and a motorcycle believed to have been used in the suspected trafficking operation.
The recovered substance is believed to be methamphetamine, although its composition and purity are subject to forensic examination.
Tanzania investigation exposes wider trafficking network
The Kwale arrests form part of a wider investigation into an alleged international drug trafficking network operating across several countries.
Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) said its investigations had uncovered suspected links between the trafficking operation and countries including Afghanistan, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates.
DCEA Commissioner General Aretas Lyimo said preliminary investigations suggested that a separate consignment of narcotics intercepted in Tanzania had entered the country through Kenya’s Port of Mombasa.
According to Lyimo, suspects arrested in Tanzania claimed to have collected the drugs in Mombasa before transporting them across the Horohoro border into Tanzania.
The information prompted cooperation between Tanzanian and Kenyan authorities to trace the suspected supply chain, identify storage locations and arrest other people believed to be involved.
Tanzania’s drug enforcement agency reported seven arrests across the two countries, comprising five Tanzanians and two Ugandans, as part of the broader investigation.
The separate arrests in Tanzania should be distinguished from the three suspects apprehended in the Kwale operation.
Court allows 15-day detention for further investigations
The three suspects arrested in Kwale were subsequently presented before a Kenyan court, which authorised their detention for 15 days to allow detectives to complete investigations.
The prosecution had requested 21 days, but the court granted a shorter period.
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Investigators are pursuing leads into the suspected trafficking network, including the possible involvement of additional accomplices and the movement of narcotics across national borders.
The suspects have not been convicted of any offence, and the allegations remain subject to investigation and the court process.
Kenya steps up crackdown on drug trafficking
The seizure comes amid growing concern over the use of East African coastal routes in international narcotics trafficking.
Kenya’s strategic position along the Indian Ocean has made its coastline an important focus for security agencies investigating suspected drug shipments moving between international markets.
On November 9, DCI Director Mohamed Amin said preliminary investigations had traced the latest consignment to Pakistan and indicated that the drugs were destined for markets in East and Southern Africa.
Amin also said the Kwale seizure was unrelated to the earlier recovery of more than one tonne of suspected methamphetamine from the vessel MV Mashallah in the Indian Ocean, which investigators had linked to a separate trafficking network originating from Iran.
The latest operation adds to Kenya’s efforts to dismantle organised drug trafficking networks through intelligence sharing and cooperation with regional security agencies.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has previously identified illicit drugs and alcohol abuse among the country’s major threats, pledging tougher enforcement measures.
The Kwale investigation now places renewed attention on cross-border trafficking routes and the role of regional cooperation in identifying the people, supply chains and financial networks behind the suspected trade.
