Kenya has launched a specialised investigative unit dedicated to combating organised immigration crime, marking what authorities describe as the first capability of its kind in East Africa.
The 29‑member unit, dubbed the Counter Organised Immigration Crime Team (COICT), will be domiciled within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' Serious Crime Unit but stationed at key border points across the country.
Its core mandate, the DCI said on Saturday, will be strengthening border security and tackling transnational criminal networks involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling, travel document fraud, and other crimes that threaten national security and public safety.
The team was flagged off by the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, on behalf of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, on Friday at the Border Police Training Campus in Kanyonyoo, Kitui County, after completing intensive specialised training.
"With training complete, the team now transitions from the classroom to the frontline. Their mission is clear: disrupt criminal networks, dismantle trafficking and smuggling syndicates, prosecute those who exploit the vulnerable, and safeguard the integrity of Kenya’s borders," the Directorate said.
Their deployment marks a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to stay ahead of sophisticated criminal networks that exploit borders, immigration systems, and vulnerable persons for profit.
The training was delivered under the East Africa Border Security Programme with funding support from the British High Commission and facilitated by subject‑matter experts from the National Police Service (NPS), in collaboration with partners VALAR and Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) Kenya.
The programme forms part of the Kenya‑UK Border Security Programme, a strategic partnership anchored on a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, which promotes coordinated action to enhance border security.
The initiative also aims to enhance intelligence‑led investigations, strengthen inter‑agency collaboration, and improve Kenya’s ability to disrupt organised immigration crime while upholding human rights and protecting victims.
Participants underwent intensive training in intelligence‑led investigations, investigative interviewing, trafficking in persons and migrant‑smuggling investigations, financial and digital evidence management, crime‑scene processing, international cooperation, victim‑centred approaches, human rights, professional ethics, joint operations, and operational planning.
Amin urged the officers to conduct every investigation with the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability, stressing that all operational decisions must be intelligence‑led, evidence‑based, and firmly anchored in the Constitution of Kenya, the National Police Service Act, and all applicable laws.
He also reminded the officers of their dual responsibility to deny organised criminal networks the opportunity to exploit Kenya’s borders while safeguarding the rights, dignity, and welfare of victims with fairness, compassion, and respect.
Representing the British High Commission, Ben Fisher described the rapid operationalisation of the COICT as a landmark achievement and the first specialised capability of its kind in East Africa.
Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police Service, APS Director of Security Operations Jackson Kangani, challenged the officers to translate their training into measurable operational results through dismantled criminal syndicates, rescued victims, successful prosecutions, and safer communities.
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