Detectives unearth narcotics network

Detectives in Mombasa have unravelled an international drug trafficking syndicate along Kenya’s Coast, Tanzania and the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles and Madagascar.

This follows discovery of 7.6 kilogrammes of heroin on a luxury yacht at the port of Mombasa on Monday, a week after it was dragged from Kilifi where it had been parked. Five men, including a Seychellois, the boat’s captain, and four Kenyans, were arrested in the car with 2 kilogrammes and police say they led them to the luxury Baby Iris Yacht laden with the drugs.

Last month, the US Department of State named Kenya as a leading transit route for South Asian heroin and South American cocaine and blamed Kenya’s weak police, judicial system and corruption.

Police have also claimed the yacht, suspected to be registered in Singapore, is owned by a Briton they have already contacted, but he has not featured in the trial of the Seychellois Clement Serge Bristol and the Kenyans, which began in Mombasa yesterday.

Regular travels

On Monday, British detectives joined the search. Police said last week the yacht, which is popular with Western tourists, regularly travels between Mombasa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Seychelles. Yesterday, police claimed in court that the drug seized in the car and yacht is worth Sh28 million on the black market.

Director of Public Prosecution yesterday told Mombasa Chief Magistrate Maxwell Gicheru that the syndicate involves organised criminals operating in different countries.

“The crime is organised. They operate in Madagascar, Seychelles, Tanzania and Kenya,” the prosecution said in remarks supported by state lawyer Daniel Wamotsa, who opposed an application to release the Seychellois and Kenyans on bond.

The state lawyers said the crime facing them is complicated and will be investigated across the nations. Wamotsa told the court the suspects should not be released on bond as they have links with other suspected drug lords who can habour them in those countries after absconding their trial.

The other suspects are Ahmed Said Bakari, Mohamed Bakari Mohamed, Shariff Mzee Mohamed and Ahmed Hussein Salim. Wamotsa insisted since the accused were facing life sentence or hefty fine if convicted, there was possibility they could abscond trial because the sentence was severe. They face life imprisomment if found guilty.

The state lawyer said since Kenya has porous borders, there was high chances they could escape using these routes and get refuge in the countries where there is active network of the drug trafficking.

The suspects were first arrested in Kilifi in a car where heroin worth millions was recovered before another discovery was done in the yacht in a search where British police were also involved.

The accused denied that on April 9 this year at Kilifi yacht yard, they were found trafficking 9.6 kilos of heroin worth Sh28 million.

Their lawyer Jared Magolo told the court that since the case made his clients be detained for 14 days after appearing in court on April 10, they had a right to ask to be released on bond.

“The file has been closed. They have been in the police custody since April 9 after the investigation officers requested to have them detained for 14 days. There is nothing wrong in the accused being given bond,” said Magolo.

He accused the prosecution of applying to have the accused punished by being denied bond and yet they had not been tried.

He dismissed severity of the sentence advanced by prosecution as not a compelling reason his clients should not be released on bond.

In an affidavit signed by Cpl Kenneth Kimeli, the police accused the suspects of concealing the drug under the water tank of Baby Iris yacht boat.

The magistrate ordered that he will rule on April 29 on whether the accused will be released on bond. The magistrate ordered they be remanded in the custody.

Meanwhile, in March 2015, US State Department warned of growing domestic user population of cocaine and heroin in Kenya and criticised Kenya’s efforts to combat this illegal trade.

In a scathing analysis of Kenya’s narcotics problem, the US State Department is critical of Kenya’s efforts to combat international drug trafficking through its borders. It warns that drug money is corrupting many institutions in Kenya and weakening the nation state.

“Kenya is a significant transit country for a variety of illicit drugs, including Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine, with an increasing domestic user population.