State targets drug lords as Sh598m cocaine haul burnt

The government has destroyed Sh598 million worth of cocaine impounded at the Kilindini port in Mombasa in 2016.

The 99 kilogrammes of cocaine, which had been in the custody of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for three years, were destroyed in an incinerator at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi.

High Court judge Luka Kimaru was part of the team that supervised the exercise. Others included officials from the Interior ministry, Director of Public Prosecutions and National Police Service.

Justice Kimaru was required to oversee the incineration because the court had to certify that the drugs, which had been used as evidence in a case, were destroyed.

"This is a warning to all drug lords that the war against drugs is on the verge of commencing," he said.

Prosecutor Edwin Okello said two suspects, a Briton and a Kenyan, were arrested for trafficking the drugs from Brazil with the aim of shipping them to Spain.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, who presided over the destruction of the cocaine, said the war against illegal drugs was still alive.

Matiang'i warned that drug traffickers would be treated like enemies of the state. "For those who have doubted our resolve as Government in the fight against drugs, this exercise is the answer."

Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai said the success of the police was only possible because of the information gathered from the public.

DPP Noordin Haji thanked the UK and US governments for their assistance in the drugs seizure.