Eight Kenyan Soldiers Face Narcotics Trafficking Charges

(MENAFN) Eight Kenya Defence Forces personnel faced narcotics trafficking charges Wednesday in connection with a massive methamphetamine seizure intercepted at sea last October, with prosecutors declaring the confiscated drugs carried a street value exceeding $63 million.

The military members entered not guilty pleas before senior principal magistrate Gladys Olimo during their court appearance.

Evidence presented revealed the accusations stem from an October 25 maritime interdiction operation during which law enforcement stopped a dhow vessel and recovered 2,258 pounds (1,024 kilograms) of crystal methamphetamine. Authorities transported the shipment to land, where the accused soldiers allegedly stole portions of the seized narcotics.

Prosecutors charged the servicemembers with possessing varying amounts of methamphetamine, with allegations indicating both individual and collaborative criminal activity.

Principal prosecution counsel Brenda Oganda objected to bail requests, arguing the proposed conditions failed to account for "the gravity and seriousness of the offences," and cautioning the court about "a real risk of interference with witnesses and potential compromise of the ongoing investigations."

Kenyan security officials described the prosecution as part of intensified maritime surveillance efforts along the Indian Ocean shoreline, following multiple major drug interdictions that demonstrate the area's persistent exploitation by international trafficking organizations.

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