High alert as Sh4b drugs escape net

By Standard TeamPolice seized only a small fraction of heroin when they intercepted six men in Mombasa last week with 196 kilos of the drug, The Standard can reveal today.
Two tonnes of heroin with an estimated street value of Sh4.2 billion ($49 million under current exchange rates) are now believed to have entered Kenya through the coastal strip before police seized 196 kilos, and was part of the drug consignment seized in Mombasa.
The revelations place show the police were just lucky to have intercepted the smaller consignment, raising questions as to how such a huge amount of drugs could have been ferried from a ship anchored in the high seas by speed boats without alarms being raised.

Ali Mohamed, Khan Mohamed, Abdul Baseet and three others were Monday charged at the Nairobi Law Courts over drug trafficking. [PHOTO: EVANS HABIL/STANDARD]

Highly placed sources within the police force yesterday revealed to The Standard that most of the drug consignment was offloaded at other locations along Kenya’s northern coast, before police captured six suspects with the 196 kilograms of heroin packaged in disguise as dog food in Mombasa last week.
The drops of the nearly two tonnes of heroin were made in locations around Lamu and Malindi according to the police sources who did not wish to be quoted.
"Reports suggest the barons may have dumped part of the haul in other coastal towns, before trying the Mombasa one that was seized, and that is why our attention is there for now," revealed a highly placed source who requested anonymity because he did not want to be seen discussing ongoing investigations.
A new twist developed in the case yesterday when it emerged that some of the suspects arrested during the Friday night drug bust carried licensed firearms.
When they were arraigned in court yesterday, two of the six suspects arrested in Shanzu, Mombasa on Friday night said that the Kenya Police licensed them to carry firearms.
There was also another twist in the case when investigators told the court that the weight of the heroin seized was 102 kilograms and not 196 as stated earlier by the Anti-Narcotics police unit.
Initially, police had said the weight was 196 kilogrammes and put the value at Sh500 million but in court they stated it was 102 kilos worth Sh392 million.
The revelations come as Kenya’s growing reputation as a new hub for drug trafficking came under focus from the United Nations.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Kenya and the East African region was becoming a new route for traffickers following tighter controls in Asian countries known as trafficking hubs like Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Nairobi Monday, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said, "the recent seizure of 200 kilograms of heroin in Kenya tells us that we should be vigilant. We need to establish whether it was an isolated incident or routine."
The revelation by police sources that nearly two tonnes of heroin came into the country dwarfs the 2004 seizure of 1.2 tonnes of cocaine then valued at Sh16 billion, which was Kenya’s largest ever drug haul.
Even though drug dependency is on the increase in Kenya, especially in the coastal city of Mombasa, experts say the larger consignments are usually on transit.
Police have not yet established how the drugs leave Kenya for other destinations, but the number of cases in which tourists or airline employees are arrested while carrying drugs out of the country could just be a pointer to how narcotics transit out of the country.
Yesterday, Fedotov said that the UN was ready to help Kenya combat traffickers, but only if the Government played its role effectively.
However, Kenya may only be able to control drug trafficking only if stronger measures are put in place to fight corruption and money laundering.
"We will support the Government of Kenya because of its vast border and coastlines, but Kenya has to act and prevent corruption and money laundering [of money from drugs trade]," said Fedotov.
The revelations that some of the suspects were licensed to carry firearms reinforces the view that drug traffickers are not operating in a vacuum, but work with complicity from law enforcement agencies.
Yesterday, Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere revealed that contingents of police have been deployed in Lamu and Malindi to trace the rest of the consignment of the heroin, with the hope that it has not left the locality.
Iteere also said that he was yet to know the actual owners of the drugs because those arrested are believed to be working for the real barons
"We will know very soon if the six suspects are the real owners, or there are other people behind the same. Investigations are ongoing," said Iteere.
Iteere made the remarks as more officers rushed to Lamu and Malindi to "pursue" leads that there were more of the drug that may have been shipped there in a similar manner that the Mombasa one was delivered.
The first team of detectives went to the towns on Friday.
New leads also opened in the probe, with reports that the police have been trying to interrogate a Nairobi politician they suspect could have links to the drug haul.
One of those arrested is said to be an employee of the prominent activist and police are trying to question him.
Yesterday, the Police Commissioner denied their investigations were being hampered by interference from other arms of Government.
Detectives were yesterday allowed to continue questioning the six suspects until Thursday, before they wrap up their investigations. The suspects include three Kenyans, two Iranians and a Pakistani.
Police handling the case revealed the traffickers had used speedboats to deliver the white powder from the high seas.
One of the speedboats that ferried the heroin to Mombasa was seized hours after it had finished its work.
The seizure of heroin came as a result of a two-week stakeout by police who had been tipped the narcotics were on the way to Kenya.
Police revealed the traffickers had arrived with the narcotics at the high seas in Kilifi or Mtwapa area, and were waiting for the ground to be clear for them to deliver the same.
The traffickers were using a satellite phone to communicate with their contacts on shore.
And come Thursday night, the narcotics that had been packaged and labelled as dog food were removed from a speedboat, and loaded onto two cars to an apartment in Shanzu.
The drug was disguised as dog food and labelled ‘Science Plan: Veterinary formulated Canine Senior for Older Dogs. New Improved Taste’. The whitish powder was concealed in nylon papers.
"It was a long wait that has borne fruit and we hope to get to the bottom of this issue and arrest and prosecute the real owners," said Iteere.
The officers who conducted the sting operation also recovered two cars, a Nissan saloon and a sport utility Toyota RAV4, two pistols and 59 bullets and a satellite phone.
One of the suspects identified as Joash Omondi had, according to Iteere, rented the posh apartment two days before the arrival of the drugs.
Omondi introduced his other suspects as investors who wanted to rent the house, the police boss said.
Iteere added that the police know the owner of the apartment, and are trying to establish if he has any link to the narcotics.
Apart from Omondi, Hassan Ibrahim and Yusuf Hassan are Kenyans, while Ali Mohamed and Abduk Baseet are Iranians. Khan Mohamed is a Pakistani national.
Ibrahim told Iteere, who talked to him briefly, that he usually comes to Nairobi and lives in a guest in South C estate before heading to the Coast.
It is believed the heroin originated in Pakistan and was to be repackaged in the house before being redistributed to local and regional dealers.