Kenya to publicly destroy Sh8.2 billion meth seized in maritime operation after suspects are charged - Murkomen
The massive drug haul, intercepted aboard a stateless dhow christened MV Ighol, has once again placed Kenya under the global spotlight as a key transit route exploited by international narcotics cartels targeting markets across the world.
The government will publicly destroy methamphetamine valued at Sh8.2 billion that was seized in a maritime operation off the Kenyan coast, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said.
The massive drug haul, intercepted aboard a stateless dhow christened MV Ighol, has once again placed Kenya under the global spotlight as a key transit route exploited by international narcotics cartels targeting markets across the world.
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Speaking during a church service on Sunday, Murkomen said the seizure reflected the government’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks and other illicit operations along Kenya’s maritime borders.
“You have seen, through the determination of President William Ruto, supported by our army, police and Coast Guard, that we have successfully intercepted drugs linked to ISIS, operated by Iranians near our waters. Those drugs will be taken to court together with the six Iranians, and thereafter we shall destroy them in the open,” he said.
The Interior CS reaffirmed that the government would not relent in its fight against narcotics and other substances that threaten the lives and well-being of Kenyans.
“As a nation, we have resolved to stand firm against drugs, illicit alcohol, and all other vices eroding the lives and dignity of our people,” he said.
According to Murkomen, initial tests conducted by government chemists confirmed that the seized substance is methamphetamine with a purity level of 98 per cent. He noted that the drugs are undergoing further forensic analysis and documentation ahead of destruction.
“This decisive intervention, led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) with support from the Kenya Navy, the Kenya Coast Guard Service, National Intelligence Service, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, the Government Chemist, and other partner agencies, forms part of our contribution to global efforts to dismantle transnational organised crime networks, including narcotics trafficking, terrorism financing, and illicit financial flows,” Murkomen said.
He added that Kenya will continue working with international partners to trace and disrupt the broader criminal syndicate behind the shipment, which he described as one of the country’s largest drug seizures in recent years.
“We are progressively heightening our multi-agency security coordination framework and the vigilance of our maritime surveillance systems,” he said.
Authorities confirmed that six Iranian nationals were arrested aboard the dhow and remain in lawful custody at the Port Police Station. They are expected to be arraigned in Mombasa, but will not be charged immediately as detectives continue compiling evidence.
The dhow was intercepted by a multi-agency international security team about 630 kilometres east of Mombasa and escorted to the Port of Mombasa for processing. Investigators are working to establish the precise point of interception and whether it occurred within Kenya’s territorial waters.
Maritime experts say the MV Ighol operation highlights the growing sophistication of transnational criminal networks that exploit gaps in international surveillance systems.
Investigators believe the narcotics originated from the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia and were destined for African ports along the western Indian Ocean, where they would be repackaged for onward shipment to Europe and North America.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) titled Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia indicated that crystal meth from Southeast Asia is increasingly being trafficked into Africa through maritime routes.
The latest seizure comes 11 years after the interception of MV Amin Darya (also known as Al Noor), which was found carrying heroin worth Sh1.3 billion. The High Court later overturned the life sentences imposed on seven Iranians in that case, citing procedural flaws and conflicting evidence on the vessel’s location at the time of arrest.
In the 2014 incident, the government, acting on the orders of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, bombed and destroyed the drug-laden vessel off the coast of Mombasa. The court later ruled that the arrests were mishandled, as no search warrants were produced, and the suspects lacked access to qualified interpreters.
Kenya will this time rely on both domestic and international laws to prosecute the six Iranians arrested aboard MV Ighol. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), any state is permitted to board and seize stateless vessels engaged in drug trafficking on the high seas.
Murkomen reiterated that the public destruction of the Sh8.2 billion narcotics haul will take place after the suspects are charged in court.
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