Police say the seizure targeted international trafficking networks; BBC Africa reported an estimated value of $27 million. A court has ordered three suspects held while investigations continue.
Kenyan police say they seized 454 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine in an operation targeting international drug trafficking networks. BBC Africa reported an estimated value of $27 million on 9 November. Investigators told a court that weighing, sampling and laboratory analysis of the substance were still pending. The recovered drugs and seized items are being kept as exhibits.
The operation followed an arrest in Tanzania. In a separate case, Kenyan authorities destroyed more than a tonne of methamphetamine in October 2026 from a consignment the country’s navy intercepted in 2025 about 630 kilometres off the Mombasa coast.
Kenyan anti-narcotics officers worked with Tanzanian counterparts on the operation. Prosecutors said a suspect arrested in Tanzania on 6 November was handed over at the Lunga-Lunga border and allegedly led officers to premises in Ganja la Simba, Kinondo and Shirazi village in Msambweni, Kwale County, on Kenya’s coast.
The suspect was allegedly linked to a separate seizure in Tanzania of 299 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine and heroin. Aretas Lyimo, head of Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Authority, said initial questioning indicated that the drugs found there had passed through Mombasa. He said investigations suggested some suspects were key figures in a network operating across several countries.
Lyimo said 7 suspects were arrested across the two locations: five Tanzanians and two Ugandans. BBC Africa described three arrests on the Kenyan coast, of two Tanzanians and one Ugandan, and separately said four suspects were in custody in Kenya; it also described the earlier handover from Tanzania.
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Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo ordered three suspects held for 15 days while an alleged narcotics-trafficking network is investigated. Prosecutors had requested 21 days, The Star said. They also sought time to examine electronic devices and verify passports and identification documents. The case is scheduled to return to court on 24 November 2026.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive synthetic drug that can cause severe psychosis, heart attack or stroke. Kenya’s Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said in October 2026 that the government would introduce tougher laws and intensify operations against illicit alcohol and drug abuse, which he called among the country’s top threats.
The Institute for Security Studies, a think tank, says East Africa’s coastline is increasingly an entry point for manufactured drugs intended for local use, as well as a transit route to other markets.
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