Authorities intensify crackdown on drug trafficking and abuse

Authorities have intensified the war on drug trafficking and consumption, with officials reporting increased conviction outcomes in recent months.

They said they have laid the groundwork for a sustained crackdown on the menace and expressed confidence in the prosecution process against those arrested.

Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin said the agency has recorded significant progress over the past three months, with near-daily arrests and recoveries of narcotics.

“We have faith in the prosecution process and that those nabbed will be dealt with according to the law. There is a drive and zeal at all levels because this menace is affecting all of us,” he said.

He said the operation has been intensified through the deployment of additional personnel on the ground.

Officials say the anti-narcotics unit’s capacity has been expanded from 200 to 700 officers and has been equipped with modern surveillance, intelligence, forensic and financial investigation tools to target high-level drug traffickers and illicit alcohol networks.

President William Ruto has said asset tracing, seizure and forfeiture will feature prominently in narcotics and illicit alcohol investigations, with recovered assets redirected toward rehabilitation, prevention and treatment programmes.

Ruto warned that any government official or security officer found colluding with traffickers would be prosecuted and dismissed from service.

In his New Year address delivered from Eldoret State Lodge on December 31, Ruto declared alcohol and drug abuse a national emergency that threatens public health, national security, productivity and the social fabric of the country.

He noted statistics showing that one in six Kenyans aged 15–65 uses at least one substance of abuse, with more than 4.7 million people affected, and said initiation into harmful use often begins in the teenage years.

“This crisis demands decisive national action,” Ruto said, unveiling a comprehensive government strategy to confront the menace through enforcement, prevention and multi-agency cooperation.

Authorities have in the past three months mounted nationwide operations targeting drugs and alcohol. Several suspects have been arrested and arraigned, while tonnes of drugs as well as alcohol have been destroyed.