The narcotics were recovered in Ganja La Simba village, Kinondo, within Msambweni Sub-County, following intelligence-sharing and investigations involving Kenyan and Tanzanian security agencies.
According to Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the operation followed the arrest of a suspected trafficker in Tanzania. The individual was subsequently handed over to Kenyan authorities at the Lunga-Lunga–Horohoro border crossing. Information obtained during the investigation led detectives to suspected accomplices and locations in Kwale.
Kenyan investigators subsequently arrested three suspects in connection with the operation, including two Tanzanian nationals and a Ugandan woman. Officers also seized two motor vehicles and a motorcycle believed to be linked to the suspected trafficking activities.
The recovered consignment is valued at approximately 3.6 billion Kenyan shillings, equivalent to about US$27 million. Authorities have described the substance as suspected methamphetamine, with laboratory analysis required to establish its composition.
The seizure has renewed attention on East Africa's vulnerability to international narcotics trafficking. The region's Indian Ocean coastline and cross-border transport routes have raised concerns among security agencies about their potential use by trafficking networks to move illegal drugs between international markets.
Kenyan investigators say the latest operation forms part of broader efforts to dismantle transnational criminal networks through intelligence-led enforcement and regional cooperation. Investigations are continuing to establish the full extent of the suspected network, identify other individuals involved and determine the intended destinations of the drugs. The suspects remain subject to the ongoing investigation and legal process.
