Detectives in Kenya have revealed how their anti-narcotics unit dismantled a notorious international drug trafficking network linked to a Mexican cartel operating in the country.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the dismantling of the illegal drug ring run by a Nigerian national followed a multi-agency operation that uncovered a clandestine meth lab in Namanga, Kajiado county.
Detectives added that several suspects, including suspected ringleaders, were arrested during that operation.
The DCI stated that the crackdown began in September 2024 after a 50-year-old Kenyan woman was arrested in Kiambu County. She was accused of setting up a meth lab there with a 51-year-old Nigerian national who is believed to be one of the cartel’s chief architects in Kenya.
According to a coverage by DCI, soon after the arrest, another suspect, a Nigerian national, who was believed to be funding the operation and facilitating the transport, was also apprehended.
DCI revealed that the suspect is linked to multiple firms in Kenya and Nigeria and is chained to a drug network across Africa.
Police also exposed another 51-year-old Nigerian national had a record of criminal activities globally. He was found operating across South Africa, China, Gabon and China with links to a Mexican cartel.
He was, however, apprehended in October 2024, after he attempted to flee Kenya through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport despite a police stop order.
According to the report, other people suspected of being associates of the 51-year-old had also been arrested in September. DCI revealed that the suspects had technical expertise for meth production.
In October 2024, Detectives apprehended another suspect, a 52 year old Kenyan businesswoman who was accused of supplying industrial chemicals and coordinating logistics for the cartel.
The officers found boxes of Chemicals branded with local business names during the crackdown, linking her to the illicit trade. Officers added that the suspects had planned to expand meth production in East Africa and use Kenya as a distribution hub.
All suspects linked to the trafficking have been arrested and the lab shut down and completely destroyed, DCI added.
