Thursday
April 7, 2011
April 7, 2011
Coast provincial criminal investigations department officers inspect some of the packets of heroin worth half a billion shillings netted from two vehicles at an apartment block in Shanzu on March 25, 2011. Six suspects were arrested in connection with the haul. Photo/GIDEON MAUNDU
By FRED MUKINDA fmukinda@ke.natiomedia.com
Posted Tuesday, April 5 2011 at 22:00
Posted Tuesday, April 5 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- Americans hope to choke local cocaine and heroin trafficking routes
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will establish a permanent office in Nairobi to help choke local cocaine and heroin trafficking routes.
The decision is informed by the fact that drugs passing through Kenya are consumed in the US.
Besides, the DEA’s presence in the country is intended to limit drugs-driven corruption prevalent in Kenya’s “law enforcement, Judiciary and political institutions.”
The plans are contained in this year’s International Narcotics Control Strategy report to guide the US government in achieving its aims.
In the past, DEA activities in Kenya operated under the office in Pretoria, South Africa.
In the past, DEA activities in Kenya operated under the office in Pretoria, South Africa.
The move comes at a time when the Kenya Police has intensified the war against drugs but is under pressure from powerful barons who want anti-narcotics detectives off their trail.
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere last week revealed that officers had been threatened by kingpins behind the 102 kgs of heroin worth Sh200 million seized in Mombasa two weeks ago. He said the traffickers tried bribery before resorting to intimidation.
“The principal US counter-narcotics objective in Kenya is to interdict the flow of narcotics to the US. A related objective is to limit the corrosive effects of narcotics-related corruption in law enforcement, the Judiciary, and political institutions,” the 2011 strategic report reads.
It adds: “The US seeks to accomplish this objective through law enforcement cooperation, the encouragement of a strong Kenyan government commitment to narcotics interdiction, and the strengthening of Kenyan counter narcotics and overall judicial capabilities.”
The war in Kenya was intensified at the end of last year after US ambassador Michael Ranneberger revealed he had intelligence reports linking prominent people to the trade.
He handed the report to Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director Patrick Lumumba.
Internal Security minister George Saitoti named in Parliament personalities under investigation.
The strategic report was released by the US Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the weekend.
“Trafficking of narcotics in and through Kenya is a major and growing problem that has permeated all strata of the society. Drug trafficking is linked to the prevailing culture of impunity, and presents serious ramifications to the nation‘s health, security, and stability,” it says.
Besides Kenya being a transit country, the report notes this has led to increased consumption of heroin and cocaine locally.
“Heroin transits Kenya bound for Europe, the United States, as well as other parts of western and southern Africa. Drugs are transiting through Kenya to Indian Ocean states and territories including the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Reunion,” reads part of the report.
“The major drug barons dwell in the posh estates of Mombasa, and coordinate the importation and supply of their illegal merchandise within the region and beyond,” the report adds.
It further says that drugs are transported locally using VIP vehicles to cheat scrutiny at inspection points.
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