Akasha sons, three others arrested in drug bust

Two sons of slain drug baron Ibrahim Akasha and three foreigners were arrested on Sunday evening during a raid on their Nyali residence in Mombasa by anti-narcotics police officers.

The swoop was carried out by officers from the Anti-Narcotic Drugs Police Unit and United States of America security agents, according to court papers filed in a Mombasa court yesterday.

Baktash Akasha Abdalla and Ibrahim Akasha Abdallah were arrested alongside two Indians and a third suspect whose nationality was not immediately established over their alleged link to the heroin trade in the country.

This is the first high-level arrest of drug barons at the Coast, three months after President Uhuru Kenyatta supervised the destruction of a ship laden with heroin worth Sh1 billion.

It also emerged yesterday that USA Drug Enforcement Administration had indicated they would apply for their extradition to face charges of conspiracy to traffic narcotic drugs.

The anti-narcotics police unit in Mombasa said they intercepted 98 packets of heroin in a raid carried out in Nairobi last Friday and five packets were released to the US government for evidential purposes.

"The drugs were seized during a transaction pursuant to a controlled delivery that had been requested by the USA government on February 13, 2014. The request was approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions," said Head of Anti-Narcotic Drugs Unit in Mombasa Hamis Masa.

ransacked house

In an affidavit filed in court yesterday, Dr Masa said the suspects faced serious offences for which, if found guilty, would attract severe penalty in either Kenya or the US.

The anti-narcotics unit boss disclosed this during an application before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Maxwell Gicheru yesterday.

Police asked for 14 days to finish investigating. The magistrate ruled that the suspects be arraigned today for further direction. 

"About 4pm on Sunday, police officers from Kenya led by officer in charge of anti-narcotics unit in Mombasa, Hamis Masa, and six foreign officers who claimed to be from US stormed the Akashas' home in Nyali, ransacked the whole house, arresting Baktash Akasha and three other guests from the Emirates," said the family's lawyer Cliff Ombeta.

He complained that the police carried out the raid without a warrant, adding that police tortured his clients as they questioned them. 

The illicit drugs trade and abuse are rampant, with several US reports indicating that the region is being used as a conduit for the illegal trade. Mombasa is considered a major international transit route in the global drug trade. In the late 1990s and early 2000, Ibrahim Akasha was notorious for trading in illegal drugs around the world before he was assassinated in Holland in May 2000.

Reports indicated that Akasha had fallen out with Yugoslavia barons operating in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe over non-payment of heroin worth over Sh200 million.

His assassination ignited a bloodbath across the world and in March 2003, the elder Akasha son, Kamaldin, was assassinated at a petrol station near Makupa Police Station in Mombasa.

Mr Ombeta said police officers claimed they were looking for Baktash whom they wanted to extradite to America.

He said the officers also claimed one of the foreigners was on their watch list as an international drug lord.

"The main search was being conducted by the foreign officers without the presence of the owners. They broke the ceiling, toilet bowl and made them sign documents," said Ombeta.

He claimed the police also seized two guns, five vehicles and other valuables including land titles, jewellery, mobile phones and watches.

Yesterday, we exclusively reported that Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo had disbanded the anti-narcotics unit at the Coast.

The officers received Sh10,000 each as transfer allowance and most of them will be moved to Mandera, Garba Tulla, Bungoma, Pokot, Nyatike, Mbeere, Kuria West and Turkana East.