By Suleiman Mbatiah
Several Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers are under investigation over allegations that they stole and concealed part of a 1,024-kilogram methamphetamine consignment intercepted during a multi-agency operation off the Kenyan coast in October.
In a statement issued on December 2, the KDF acknowledged the claims and said the officers involved in the October 25 interdiction are being probed by relevant authorities. However, the military stressed that the entire haul remains intact and under round-the-clock protection by a joint security team.
“It has been alleged that during the operation, and as the narcotics were being offloaded for transport ashore, some KDF personnel involved in the mission stole and concealed a portion of the narcotics for personal gain,” read the statement from the Strategic Communications department of the KDF.
The drugs were seized after the Kenya Navy, working under the multi-agency Bahari Safi 2025.01 operation, intercepted a stateless dhow about 630 kilometres east of Mombasa. Aboard the vessel were six foreign nationals, all Iranian, who were arrested. Authorities recovered 769 sealed packages containing crystal meth with an estimated purity of 98 percent. The cargo has been valued at more than KSh 8.2 billion, making it one of the largest narcotics seizures in Kenya’s history.
The operation was supported by regional partners, including aerial surveillance from Seychelles and Madagascar, and forms part of wider efforts by Kenyan and international agencies to curb large-scale trafficking through the Western Indian Ocean. According to security officials, the intercepted dhow is believed to have evaded earlier crackdowns by global drug-enforcement agencies.
Interior officials have since announced that the narcotics will be publicly destroyed once all legal procedures are complete.
“Should the allegations be substantiated, appropriate disciplinary and legal measures will be taken in accordance with the law,” read part of the statement. The investigation is expected to focus on the offloading and custody process, where the alleged theft is said to have occurred.
The six suspects, Jasem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Imran Baloch, Hassan Baloch, Rahim Baksh, and Imtiyaz Daryayi, arrested on a dhow for drug trafficking, were arraigned on October 27 at Shanzu Law Courts and are set to appear in court this week to take pleas.