Tanzania arrest leads to Sh3.6bn drug haul recovery in Kwale

Police have busted a suspected international drug trafficking network after a suspect arrested in Tanzania led Kenyan investigators to a Sh3.6 billion narcotics haul in Kwale County.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) director, Mohamed Amin, confirmed that three suspects were arrested in a multi-agency operation that resulted in the seizure of 454kg of suspected narcotic drugs in Msambweni sub-County.

The three suspects, two Tanzanians and a Ugandan woman, are in police custody awaiting arraignment. Sources said the narcotics are suspected to be methamphetamine, pending verification by the government chemist.

The operation, which began with the arrest of a suspect in Tanzania on November 5, 2026, exposed a trail of alleged accomplices in two villages in Kwale.

According to the DCI, Tanzanian authorities intercepted the first suspect while in possession of a separate 259kg of narcotics believed to be methamphetamine and cocaine before handing him over to Kenyan officers at the Lungalunga-Horohoro border crossing.

Investigators said the suspect subsequently led officers to Shirazi Village in Kingwede Shirazi Location, where they traced the residential premises of a second accomplice.

Further interrogation and tracking took the team to Ganja La Simba Village in Kinondo Location, where officers discovered 454 kilogrammes of suspected narcotics and arrested a third suspect. Two motor vehicles and a motorcycle were also seized during the operation, which the DCI said is still ongoing.

The DCI described the operation as a demonstration of cross-border intelligence sharing between Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies, saying it was part of efforts to dismantle transnational organised crime networks.

The recovery comes amid sustained multi-agency operations targeting narcotics, illicit alcohol and other harmful substances.