A cross-border investigation involving Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities has led to a major drug seizure, with investigators tracing the suspected trafficking network from a border arrest to two villages along Kenya’s coast

Kenyan security agencies have recovered 454 kilograms of suspected narcotics valued at approximately KSh3.6 billion ($27 million) in an operation targeting an alleged international drug trafficking network in Kwale County.

Raids in two coastal villages

The operation unfolded in Msambweni Sub-County, where investigators searched residential premises in Shirazi and Ganja La Simba villages. They also seized two vehicles and a motorcycle believed to be connected to the suspected trafficking activities.

Authorities suspect the recovered drugs are methamphetamine, but laboratory analysis is still required to confirm their composition.

From a border arrest to the consignment

The investigation began on Nov. 5, when Tanzanian authorities arrested a 45-year-old man over suspected drug trafficking and handed him over to Kenyan officers at the Lunga Lunga-Horohoro border crossing.

Information obtained during the investigation led police to a suspected accomplice in Shirazi before further leads took them to Ganja La Simba, where the 454-kilogram consignment was recovered.

Suspects in custody

Three foreign nationals, two Tanzanians and a Ugandan woman, were reported arrested in connection with the Kenyan operation. The Tanzanian suspect who was transferred across the border is also part of the investigation.

Police have not yet established where the recovered consignment originated or where it was intended to go. Investigations are continuing to identify other possible members of the network.

Follows a major maritime haul

The seizure comes less than two months after Kenyan authorities destroyed 1,024 kilograms of methamphetamine intercepted by the navy in the Indian Ocean in October 2025.

The drugs, valued at approximately KSh8.2 billion, were destroyed in Mombasa in September 2026 after legal proceedings were completed. Six Iranian nationals arrested aboard the vessel remained in court over the maritime shipment.

The latest operation highlights the role of cross-border cooperation in investigations into suspected narcotics trafficking along East Africa’s coast. Authorities are still working to establish the full extent of the network behind the Kwale consignment.