Akasha brothers snatched away by unknown gunmen

Baktash Akasha (left) and his brother Ibrahim Akasha when they appeared in a Mombasa court for their extradition case recently. (Photo: Courtesy)

Two sons of slain drug baron Ibrahim Akasha were whisked away by armed men from their homes in Mombasa on Sunday.

Ibrahim and Baktash Akasha, and their friends,  Indian drug suspect Vijaygiri Goswami and Pakistani Gulam Hussein were missing by last evening.

Their lawyer Cliff Ombeta told The Standard that he had searched police stations for his clients in vain.

Unconfirmed reports indicate the men who raided several homes to arrest the four travelled from Nairobi and included foreigners whose nationality was not established. Reports indicated one of the suspects was arrested from a golf club while three were taken away from Baktash's palatial residence.

Family members said the armed men struck the Akasha homestead in Nyali area at around 8.00pm,  ordered them into vehicles and sped away.

The four are battling extradition to the US after a New York court indicted them on November 10, 2014 for allegedly trying to import banned drugs.

Goswami, Baktash and Ibrahim were also charged early this month for fighting in public following an unexplained gun incident at a bar in Nyali on New Year Day.

Yesterday, a distraught family member who declined to be identified told The Standard that the Akashas were fearful that Kenyan authorities were plotting to secretly extradite them to the US before the close of a case where they are fighting their extradition.

Last week the High Court suspended the extradition proceedings, which were to resume today.

The defence wants an application seeking a local trial and determination of whether their constitutional rights will be violated if they are extradited to the US. The suspects say the crime they are accused of happened on Kenyan soil and can be tried in Kenya. They are out on bond.

Reports indicate elements within the State have been frustrated by the legal processes that began in November 2014 and blame the Judiciary for this.

A top detective who led the arrest of the Akashas four years ago at Nyali said he did not know why they had been arrested.

"Yes I have heard they were arrested but I am yet to find out why they have been arrested. We are also trying to find out what is happening," Dr. Hamisi Massa, denying reports that there was a secret plot to quietly extradite the suspects to the US.

The suspects had succeeded in having their bond reduced from Sh5 million from Sh30 million.

They also won against the State in reducing the number of days they are supposed to report at county police headquarters from three times a week to once per month.