From money laundering to drugs, arms and human trafficking: How Kenya has become a crime hub

Kenya, East Africa’s leading transit and logistics hub, is increasingly grappling with organised transnational crime, an evolution that risks turning the country into a haven for wanted criminals and illicit networks capable of destabilising the economy.

Financial crimes, drug trafficking, illicit arms trade, smuggling of precious minerals, including gold, and counterfeit goods, as well as human and child trafficking, have all intensified as criminal actors grow more daring.

Sh39b Covid-19-era fraud

One scandal now unfolding in the US courts with links to Kenya has cast a harsh spotlight on the country’s vulnerability.

Investigators allege that fraudulently obtained American taxpayer funds were laundered through Kenya to purchase luxury vehicles, high-end apartments, beach resorts, and even an aircraft.

The US federal government may soon upset Kenya’s real estate industry in efforts to recover the stolen funds hidden abroad, albeit with a level of difficulty due to international legal obstacles.

At the centre of the case is Feeding Our Future, an organisation accused of siphoning Sh39 billion from a Covid-19-era child nutrition programme through a web of service providers that submitted false claims for meals never served. The scheme, prosecutors say, was meticulously planned and executed.

Ironically, some of the accused persons entered the United States as refugees and may have benefited from similar programs aimed at vulnerable groups.

“These defendants exploited a program designed to provide nutritious food to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they prioritised their own greed, stealing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds to purchase luxury cars, houses, jewelry, and coastal resort property abroad,” said US Attorney Andrew Luger.

“The defendants obtained, misappropriated, and laundered millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children.”

US authorities have indicted 78 suspects, most of Somali descent, on charges including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery since the case emerged in 2022.

Investigators say some suspects acquired lavish properties in Nairobi and at the Coast, including in Eastleigh, South C, Parklands, and Donholm, as well as Nyali and Diani. Other assets were purchased in Turkey and across several US states.

At the time of publication, the Kenyan government had yet to respond to the allegations.

The case is far from isolated. It adds to a growing list of cross-border crimes linked to Kenya over the past year.

Aided by new technologies, the criminals have grown more sophisticated, stretching the capacity of law enforcement agencies.

“Larger, highly connected economies are naturally more exposed to transnational crime. While robust legal frameworks exist, their effectiveness depends on enforcement, integrity, and political will. Corruption and selective application of laws remain the key barriers to fully translating resilience into tangible outcomes,” notes Fatuma Mohamed, a Geopolitics, Trade, and African Affairs analyst.

Da Mata Dos Santos at JKIA, Nairobi, on May 13, 2025. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport after he was found in possession of cocaine. [Courtesy]

A major drug bust, an arrest, and the rapid extradition of a fugitive who had evaded justice in the US for 15 years proved Kenya’s continued exposure to transnational crime. Despite heightened vigilance and international cooperation, the country remains attractive to drug traffickers and fugitives.

Dubbed the “heroin coast,” East Africa’s Indian Ocean shoreline has long facilitated the movement of narcotics from South Asia to markets in Europe. While Tanzania and Mozambique are equally trapped in the drug traffickers’ chokehold, Kenya bears the most brunt.

Security experts attribute much of the problem to geography. Kenya sits astride major air routes and maritime corridors that power legitimate global trade, but also attract illicit networks.

Governance and security specialist Dr Likaka Luchetu, describes the situation as alarming, citing weak enforcement of laws such as the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA).

“Our strategic location, bustling cities, slightly advanced technology, and dynamic economy create opportunities for money laundering and operations that evade enforcement. Laws on paper are simply not enough when criminal networks exploit gaps, inefficiencies, and sometimes corruption within key institutions,” says Likaka.

Despite tighter surveillance, key gateways, including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Lamu Port, and the Port of Mombasa, are frequently exploited to traffic heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, bhang, and other illegal substances.

According to Likaka, these transit points experience high traffic volumes, sophisticated smuggling methods, and occasional insider collusion that allow illicit goods and people to slip through. Further, criminal networks seem to have adapted faster than enforcement measures, exposing weaknesses in the system.

Cocaine highway

Last October, The Standard’s investigative unit exposed a covert operation designed to facilitate the movement of cocaine through JKIA. Security footage later suggested inside assistance after a 28-year-old man, Da Mata Dos Santos, bypassed multiple security checks with 20 kilograms of cocaine.

He was arrested on May 14, 2025, upon landing at London’s Heathrow Airport.

“Kenya is a heaven of transnational crime due to a corrupt system. Both political leaders and the police rank and file and commanders are corrupt and have abused their powers. Political leaders and the police are on the criminals’ payroll,” claims security expert George Musamali.

In another major case, the Kenyan Navy and Coast Guard intercepted a stateless vessel 630 kilometres off the coast in October 2025, seizing 1,024 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at Sh8.2 billion, the largest drug bust in the country’s history. Six Iranian nationals were arrested. Police said the operation was based on intelligence shared by international partners.

Fugitives, gold smuggling, and diplomatic tiffs

That same month, Kenyan authorities moved swiftly to extradite Nicolas Soares, a 34-year-old American citizen arrested in Nairobi after 15 years on the run. Soares was accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Herbert Caniza during a robbery in 2010. The victim was shot in the chest and fled.

He was arraigned in Miami on October 17 and charged with second-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.

A drug haul worth Sh8.2 billion was seized in the Indian Ocean and six Iranians arrested by security agencies. [Jotham Mghendi, Standard]

Criminal fugitives often deploy a range of techniques to evade capture, including relocating to countries with weak extradition frameworks, changing identities, forging documents, and avoiding digital footprints such as mobile payments or social media.

Soares reportedly forgot one of these cardinal rules and attempted to enter Kenya legally when a routine immigration check flagged him.

Kenya has also faced allegations of complicity, or negligence, in violations of international law, including claims that it allowed arms shipments to conflict zones such as Sudan and facilitated the transit of illegally mined gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

SwissAid, a Swedish non-governmental organisation, published a report in June 2025 detailing a surprising hike in Kenya’s gold exports destined for Dubai, the world’s leading trading hub for the precious metal.

According to the NGO, Kenya exported 42.1 tonnes of gold to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first nine months of 2025, compared to 13.8 tonnes over a similar period in 2024, raking in Sh43 billion.

The NGO accused Kenya of underreporting exports, citing discrepancies between domestic records and import data from destination countries. The surge raised concerns that gold smuggled from conflict-hit regions, including eastern DRC, South Sudan, and Sudan, was passing through Nairobi.

In November 2025, Kenya was drawn into a diplomatic row involving South Africa and Israel after a chartered flight carrying 153 undocumented Palestinian passengers landed at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport after a stopover at JKIA.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa questioned how the “mysterious” flight had been cleared despite apparent breaches, while the Palestinian embassy accused Israel of exploiting civilians fleeing the Gaza conflict.

“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here,” said Ramaphosa.

“We will sooner or later face international sanctions, which will have negative economic, social, security, and diplomatic impacts,” warns Musamali.

Likaka echoed the concern, saying Kenya risks “severe consequences” unless intelligence, enforcement, and political will match the country’s legal frameworks.

“Fugitives, arms and mineral smuggling, financial crimes, and narcotics threaten national security, economic stability, and diplomatic relations. Each breach chips away at public trust and undermines Kenya’s regional standing,” he said.

According to the Africa Organised Crime Index 2025 report, released in November, Kenya ranks fourth on the continent, and first in East Africa, in the prevalence of crimes, some state-sanctioned and others controlled by foreign syndicates.

“Foreign criminal groups established operations throughout the continent: the Brazilian Primeiro Comando da Capital and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta’ in West Africa, Bulgarian groups in South Africa, and Italian criminal actors in Kenya,” read the report.

It added: “These groups set up shop in major, well-connected cities such as Lagos, Cape Town, and Nairobi, where they collaborated with loose criminal networks and mafia-style actors supplying a range of illicit products from drugs to weapons.”

While Kenya remains one of East Africa’s most resilient states, backed by relatively strong laws, experts warn that without decisive enforcement, the country risks becoming a central node in the global criminal economy.