Mombasa, Kenya: The Kenya Navy Thursday evening seized a stateless ship suspected to be part of a drug trafficking syndicate.
The ship with 10 crew including a captain was found operating in Kenyan waters and was first held at the naval base before being dragged to Berth 8 at the Mombasa port.
The Anti-Narcotics Police Unit and Interpol searched the cargo and found a white fine powder, which the crew said was cement but police said they would verify after tests. Reports show the ship was captured off the Lamu coast and was trying to dock in Kenyan ports without notice.
According to sources, the vessel, whose name was defaced, was intercepted while offloading cargo in the deep sea on Wednesday night.
Mombasa Deputy County Commander Kubai Selevino said police found seven people of Pakistani origin. Police say they had intelligence information about two ships from Pakistan, which docked in Somalia on their way to Zanzibar, but documents found indicated otherwise.
"Investigations are still ongoing to verify the contents and this might take a while," said Kubai.
The arrest comes barely two months after a boat was captured by Australian naval forces off the Kenyan coast with heroin worth Sh25 billion which was destroyed.
Yesterday, police and the navy said Kenyan authorities want to know why the vessel was operating in its waters unannounced or if the crew was travelling legally.
