Mombasa court detains 7 KDF soldiers for 10 days over Ksh.192M meth bust

A Mombasa court has ordered the detention of seven soldiers for 10 days to allow investigators to complete forensic analysis in a Ksh.192 million methamphetamine trafficking case.

The suspects Duke Nyamwaya, Juma Mwinyifaki, Michael Kariuki, Elijah Mbogo Gacog’u, James Ekiru, Abdulrehman Salad, and Abdirahman Abdi Kuno were arrested and arraigned on Thursday in a joint operation involving detectives from the DCI Headquarters and Mombasa Regional Headquarters.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), the seven are alleged to have trafficked 25 kilograms of methamphetamine, packed in whitish crystalline packets.

“According to investigating officer PC Isaac Njoroge, searches of the suspects’ homes and workplaces led to the recovery of additional narcotics and 11 mobile phones, including Redmi, Tecno, Itel, Samsung Galaxy, Vivo, and Oppo models,” stated the ODPP.

The suspects appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Gladys Ollimo, who granted the order following an application by the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU).

Magistrate Ollimo further authorised forensic analysis of all recovered electronics, which are expected to reveal communication patterns and links to a wider trafficking network.

During the hearing, the prosecution told the court that the seized drugs are yet to be weighed, sampled, and analysed, as immediate analysis was impossible at the time of arrest.

The prosecution also pushed for the detention of the suspects, arguing that releasing the suspects could lead to witness interference, destruction of digital evidence, or coordination with accomplices still at large.

“The prosecution team, led by Yassir Mohammed and Brenda Oganda, urged the court to consider the matter’s public interest and the need for a thorough probe,” ODPP stated.

The court in its judgement agreed that the high value of the drugs, the technical nature of the forensic processes, and the possibility of flight risk justified extended detention.

The case will be mentioned on December 22 for further direction.