By Issa Hussein - Reporter
Kenya, June 26, 2026 - The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has closed its case against six Iranian nationals accused of trafficking more than one tonne of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of KSh8.2 billion.
The prosecution concluded its case before the Shanzu Chief Magistrate's Court after calling 12 witnesses, with the final testimony delivered by the lead investigating officer, Inspector Shadrack Kemei, who detailed the investigations that led to the interception of the suspected drug shipment and the arrest of the accused.
Inspector Kemei told the court that the Anti-Narcotics Unit received intelligence on October 19, 2025, indicating that the Kenya Navy had launched an operation to intercept a suspicious vessel believed to be carrying narcotic drugs.
According to the officer, the following day the Kenya Navy intercepted the vessel, identified as Mashaallah, which was allegedly operating without an Automatic Identification System (AIS), commonly referred to as a "dark vessel." It was later escorted into Kenyan waters.
The court heard that investigators obtained search warrants from the Mombasa Law Courts on October 24, 2025, authorising detectives to board, search, seize and detain the vessel. During an initial search conducted alongside officers from the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Coast Guard Service, detectives recovered two packets containing a white crystalline substance.
Field tests confirmed the substance was methamphetamine with an estimated purity of about 98 per cent, prompting a more extensive search after the vessel docked at the Kenya Navy's Mtongwe Jetty.
The prosecution said detectives later recovered 769 packets of methamphetamine concealed in six of the vessel's seven compartments. The narcotics and the vessel were seized, and the six crew members were arrested.
The accused are Jaseem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Hassan Baloch, Raheem Baksh, Imran Baloch and Imtiyaz Daryay.
Investigators also recovered five mobile phones and four SIM cards, which were subjected to forensic examination at the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) Cyber Forensics Laboratory.
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A government-supervised weighing exercise established that the seized narcotics weighed 1,036.044 kilograms and had an estimated street value of KSh8,288,352,000.
The prosecution further told the court that the accused allegedly informed investigators that the consignment had been loaded at Pozm Port in Iran and was destined for Mauritius.
Additional evidence presented showed that the Kenya Maritime Authority confirmed the vessel lacked registration documents and was therefore stateless, while analysis by the Government Chemist conclusively identified the recovered substance as methamphetamine.
The six men face charges of trafficking narcotic drugs contrary to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. Prosecutors allege the offence was committed between October 17 and 20, 2025, on the high seas approximately 350 nautical miles east of the Port of Mombasa.
With the prosecution having closed its case, the court will now determine whether the accused have a case to answer.
The prosecution team is led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi, Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema and Prosecution Counsel Henrietta Mburu.
Shanzu Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi directed both the prosecution and defence to file written submissions within 14 days. The matter will be mentioned on July 13, 2026, to confirm compliance and set a date for the ruling on whether the accused will be placed on their defence.