Kenya’s security forces caught unawares as Australians seize massive drug haul

Daily Nation

A heroin haul estimated to be worth Sh25 billion seized on Thursday by the Australian Navy off the Kenyan coast, is by far the biggest found in Africa.

There was no mention of any arrests of suspects.

The heroin was promptly destroyed.

Anti-narcotics officials said if sold at the current street value, the heroin would have raised enough money to fund the Jubilee government’s primary school laptops.

It was seized after a three-day surveillance by the Australians, who had been patrolling the Indian Ocean.

They had been monitoring the movement of a dhow that was carrying cement and the more than one tonne of the illicit cargo before they pounced. This is much bigger than the Sh6.4 billion heroin seized in Nairobi and Mombasa in 2004. It was then the biggest ever netted in Africa.

The Australian Department of Defence said in a statement: “Late on April 23, HMAS Darwin located a suspicious dhow and deployed her boarding team. Working throughout the night, the team discovered 46 sacks of heroin hidden amongst bags of cement.” The seizure of the illicit merchandise appears to have caught the Kenyan authorities unawares, with the military denying reports that a shipment of drugs had been found off the Kenyan coast.

TERRITORIAL WATERS

In Nairobi, the Department of Defence spokesman, Mr Bogita Ongeri, told the Saturday Nation that the haul was not seized within Kenya’s territorial waters.
“I can authoritatively say that the seizure of such heroin never happened within our Exclusive Economic Zone. We are doing daily surveillance within our territorial waters and we have not received such a report,” added Mr Ongeri.

Other sources said that a team had been sent from the military headquarters in Nairobi to verify the reports.

“A team has been sent on the ground to work with the Kenya Navy to check the information,” said a source, on condition of anonymity. Another source said there was no way suspects could have been arrested by foreign forces within the country’s territorial waters without informing the Kenyan military.

“Normally, when such incidents happen, the ship sends a distress call to the host country’s Navy through the International Maritime Organisation.

The head of the anti-narcotics unit of Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mr Hamisi Massa, confirmed the heroin haul seizure.

“Our partners and territorial powers intercepted the ship and we shall be getting more details. But we are yet to know where it was heading to and its origin,” he said. The record 1,032 kilogrammes in 46 sacks, had been hidden among bags of cement on the dhow, which was intercepted by the Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Darwin, about 27 nautical miles east of Mombasa.

The Saturday Nation confirmed that the Kenyan authorities were not involved in the seizure.

Military and other security sources said the dhow was sailing beyond Kenya’s waters, in an area that normally would not be patrolled either by the Kenya Navy or the Maritime Police.

The area is a major route used for trafficking narcotic drugs and Kenya is a key transit country for the drugs destined for Europe and America.

The Coalition Maritime Force director of operations, Captain Craig Powell, said: “This latest interception is the largest heroin haul in the history of force, with a street value of approximately $289 million (Australian dollars).

The success of this interdiction is testament to the highly effective interoperability of HMAS Darwin with the UK-led Combined Task Force 150 under the Combined Maritime Forces, and the professionalism of Darwin’s crew.”

BIG BLOW TO TERRORISTS

HMAS Darwin commanding officer Terry Morrison said the seizure was a big blow to terrorists’ funding networks.

“This is a major heroin seizure, which has removed a major source of funding from terrorist criminal networks. The search tested the steel of Darwin’s boarding parties, who were working in difficult conditions throughout the night,” he said.

The Australian statement added: “HMAS Darwin located a suspicious dhow and deployed her boarding team. Working throughout the night, the boarding team discovered 46 sacks of heroin hidden amongst bags of cement.”

Australia has deployed its Navy in the Indian Ocean, as part of Operation Slipper.

FUND TERRORISM

The Operation is the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the international campaign against terrorism, counter smuggling and counter piracy in the Middle East maritime security environment, an area that covers 2 million square miles, encompassing the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.

In February, the Australians seized and destroyed 353 kilogrammes of heroin off the Tanzanian coast.

The haul was discovered by an Australian Navy crew sailing in HMAS Melbourne.

Australian military also linked the earlier seizure to networks that fund terrorism.

“Melbourne has once again demonstrated how beneficial Australia’s commitment is to the Indian Ocean region and the fight against international terrorism and violent extremism,” according to the statement.

Combined Maritime Forces is a multinational naval partnership, which was established to promote security, stability and prosperity across 2.5 million square miles of international waters.

Kenyan police also seized heroin worth $5.8 million on March 25, 2011 after it was sneaked into the country through an illegal landing bay along the coast.

The drug haul was being transported in two vehicles in Mombasa when police pounced.

Three Kenyans, two Iranians and a Pakistani were arrested.

Thursday’s seizure comes amid protests by some leaders over increased use of drugs, especially in Mombasa and Nairobi among youth.

Meanwhile, a Muslim lobby group accused rogue police officers of colluding with drug barons and hampering the war against drugs.

Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council also accused police of not arresting drug peddlers despite getting tips of the activities and areas where they conduct their operations.

RAISE EYEBROWS

Chairman Sheikh Juma Ngao said countless bags of heroin and cocaine worth billions of shillings had been impounded yet they had never been openly destroyed as required by law, raising eyebrows as to their whereabouts.

“In the eight years I have been a National Campaign Against Drugs Abuse director, I have witnessed bhang being burned, but cocaine or heroin, never,” he said.

Sheikh Ngao said youths in Nairobi and Coast had encountered difficulties fighting drug addiction as result of the businesses perpetrated by the drug barons who are well known by authorities.