By Andrew Kariuki
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), led by Deputy Director Joseph Kimanthi and Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema, has presented two witnesses in an ongoing KSh 8.2 billion narcotics case before the Shanzu Law Court.
The first witness, Major Mohamed Abdulrahman, a senior Kenya Navy officer, told the court that a foreign dhow intercepted off the Kenyan coast was a stateless vessel that had been under intelligence surveillance over suspected drug trafficking across the East African and Horn of Africa regions.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Anthony Wacigi, Major Abdulrahman said the vessel, identified as MV Igor, had previously been linked to suspected narcotics activities, including an alleged offloading of a drug consignment in Maputo, Mozambique, in June 2025.
He testified that MV Igor was one of two vessels tracked by a regional maritime security team monitoring illegal activities in the Indian Ocean. The second vessel, MV Chevy, is said to have evaded interception after heading towards the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the testimony, MV Igor was intercepted approximately 350 nautical miles off the coast of Mombasa. The vessel reportedly bore Arabic inscriptions but lacked a cargo manifest or any formal documentation, leading to its classification as stateless and subject to interception under international maritime law.
A second prosecution witness, who served as the commanding officer of Kenya Navy warship KNS Jasiri, told the court that the vessel was deployed following intelligence received on October 15, 2025, regarding a suspected narcotics trafficking operation originating from the Horn of Africa.
The officer testified that upon approaching the dhow at around 4:00pm, it was not flying any national flag—another indicator of its stateless status. Attempts to establish communication through radio and horn signals were unsuccessful.
Six individuals later emerged from the vessel’s wheelhouse and, upon instruction through hand signals, moved to the front of the vessel and raised their hands. They were restrained as officers conducted a search.
During the operation, officers recovered a crystalline white substance packed in small containers. The six Iranian nationals on board allegedly identified the substance as “ice.”
Authorities also recovered five mobile phones, a Thuraya satellite phone, four identification cards bearing Arabic inscriptions, two ATM cards, and multiple SIM cards. An inventory of the recovered items was prepared and presented in court as exhibits.
The hearing continues on Thursday, April 9, 2026, with the trial court expected to visit the Kenya Navy headquarters to inspect the seized drugs.
