MOMBASA, Kenya — The government will publicly destroy methamphetamine worth Sh8.2 billion seized in a maritime operation off the Kenyan coast, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced.
The narcotics, intercepted aboard a stateless dhow identified as MV Ighol, mark one of Kenya’s largest drug hauls in recent years and have once again drawn international attention to the country’s coastline as a major conduit for global narcotics trafficking.
Speaking during a church service on Sunday, Murkomen said the seizure underscored President William Ruto’s administration’s commitment to dismantling drug networks operating along Kenya’s maritime routes.
“Through the determination of President William Ruto, supported by our army, police, and Coast Guard, we successfully intercepted drugs linked to ISIS, operated by Iranians near our waters. Those drugs will be taken to court together with the six Iranians, and thereafter we shall destroy them in the open,” Murkomen said.
Six Iranian nationals arrested aboard the dhow remain in custody at the Port Police Station in Mombasa. They are expected to appear in court once detectives complete compiling evidence.
Murkomen said preliminary tests confirmed that the seized cargo was methamphetamine with a purity of 98 percent. The drugs are undergoing further forensic analysis and documentation ahead of their destruction.
“As a nation, we have resolved to stand firm against drugs, illicit alcohol, and all other vices eroding the lives and dignity of our people,” he said.
The interception was led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in coordination with the Kenya Navy, the Kenya Coast Guard Service, the National Intelligence Service, the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the Government Chemist.
Murkomen said the operation reflected Kenya’s strengthened role in global efforts to combat transnational organised crime, including drug trafficking, terrorism financing, and illicit financial flows.
The dhow was intercepted by a multi-agency international security team approximately 630 kilometres east of Mombasa and escorted to port for processing.
Investigators are still determining the exact point of interception and whether it occurred within Kenya’s territorial waters.
Security sources believe the narcotics originated from the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia and were destined for African ports along the western Indian Ocean, where they would be repackaged for shipment to Europe and North America.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that crystal meth from Southeast Asia is increasingly being trafficked into Africa via maritime routes.
The MV Ighol bust echoes the 2014 interception of MV Amin Darya (also known as Al Noor), which was found carrying heroin worth Sh1.3 billion.
The government later destroyed that vessel under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive, although the convictions of the seven Iranians aboard were overturned by the High Court on procedural grounds.
This time, Murkomen said, Kenya will prosecute the suspects under both domestic and international laws.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allows states to board and seize stateless vessels involved in drug trafficking on the high seas.
“We are heightening our multi-agency security coordination and maritime surveillance systems,” Murkomen said, adding that the public destruction of the Sh8.2 billion meth haul will follow the suspects’ court appearance.
