Seven KDF officers arrested over Sh192m narcotics detained for 15 days

Judge gavel with cuffs. [Courtesy/GettyImages]

Seven interdicted Kenya Navy officers will wait longer to know whether they will face charges of possessing the Sh192 million drugs that were allegedly in their possession.

This is after a ruling on their detention was extended to December 22, 2025.

The Anti-Narcotics Unit had prayed for detention of the 7 suspects for 15 days as they continue with the investigations against them, giving various reasons, amongst them being treason and a threat to the investigations and the witnesses.

Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo authorised the continued detention of seven individuals arrested in connection with a major methamphetamine trafficking operation.

The authorised suspects, who are officers from the Kenyan Navy, namely Nyamwaya, Juma Mwinyifaki, Michael Kariuki, Elijah Mbogo, James Ekiru, Abdulrehman Salad, and Abdirahman Abdi Kuno, were arrested on December 11, 2025 in a coordinated operation involving ANU officers from the DCI Headquarters and Regional Headquarters in Mombasa.

According to affidavits sworn by investigating officer PC Isaac Njoroge, the team recovered a substantial consignment of substances believed to be methamphetamine during searches conducted in the suspects' residences and workplaces.

The seizures included 24 kilograms of crystalline material packaged in multiple white packets.

Police further confiscated 11 mobile phones of various makes, including Redmi, Tecno, Itel, Samsung Galaxy, Vivo, and Oppo models, which investigators say are critical to uncovering communication patterns, accomplices, and the broader reach of the alleged trafficking network.

The court has authorised, or reauthorised, the DCI to subject all seized electronics to cyber-forensic analysis.

According to the affidavit, the suspects' digital footprints, communication records, and interactions allegedly link them to a wider narcotics syndicate believed to be involved in the trafficking and distribution of methamphetamine.

"Upon interrogation and interviewing of the 5th and 7th suspects, although no narcotic drugs were found in the direct possession of the individuals, credible intelligence, communication records, and witness information place them in active association with the primary suspects involved in the methamphetamine trafficking operation. Their movements, in interactions and digital links, suggest possible roles as facilitators, coordinators or enablers within the wide syndicate," reads part of the affidavit.

Investigators argue that releasing the suspects at this stage could pose a significant risk of interference with witnesses, destruction of digital evidence, or coordination with accomplices still at large.

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