Kenya Navy seizes ship over suspected drugs link

MK254 · 2014-07-03T18:39:45+00:00

Kenya Navy soldiers on Wednesday night seized a suspicious ship linked to drugs and other illegal trade within the Indian Ocean off Mombasa. The ship MV Alnoor (B. Bushehr Amin Darya) was seized by the Navy patrol ship within Kenya territorial waters in the deep sea in Lamu sailing towards Mombasa. Mombasa County police commander Sevelino Kubai said the ship was among two cargo vessels that were being monitored by security agencies after they left Somalia. He said the Kenya authorities had information about the suspicious ship thought to be used to smuggle illegal goods, including firearms and hard drugs, and managed to intercept one of them on Wednesday night. Addressing the media Thursday evening, Mr Sevelino Kubai said the two ships had originated from Pakistan but had entered Somalia under unclear circumstances. HEAVILY GUARDED "We have managed to intercept one of the ships within the area of Lamu which had 10 crew members from different nationalities and it was escorted to Mombasa under tight security by the Kenya Navy, who handed it over to police for further investigation," said Kubai. Senior police officers and navy commanders inspected the vessel, which remained heavily guarded by police at the Kilindini port of Mombasa. Mr Kubai said documentation indicates that vessel was en route to Zanzibar. He said further scrutiny of the ship's manifest revealed that the goods were loaded in the coastal city of Mombasa and were destined for Kenya. "The documents from the ship reflect that the consignment was loaded in Kenya and that they were destined to Kenya. This raises more suspicion," he said. Speaking to the media after attending a security meeting, Mr Kubai said the ship is loaded with 300 metric tons of "cement" that the crew claimed had originated from Yemen. CREW MEMBERS HELD "We are currently off-loading the consignment for further verification, with the help of the anti-narcotic team from Nairobi," he said. Coast region head of marine unit Mr Stanley Lamai confirmed they were holding the ten crew members for further questioning. Mr Lamai confirmed that they were seven Pakistan, two Indians and one Iranian national (the captain of the ship). Reliable sources indicated the ship could be among the vessels linked with international drug trafficking and arms trafficking in the coastal region. The kingpins are believed to have smuggled 1,032 kilogrammes of heroin worth Sh27 billion that was seized and destroyed off the Kenyan coast on May this year. Australian warship HMAS Darwin warship stumbled on the vessel while on patrol and impounded 46 sacks of heroin and destroyed it at sea. The Australian Embassy in Nairobi said the boat was released before the drug was destroyed. Kenya Navy seizes ship over suspected drugs link - News - nation.co.ke

Thread starter MK254
Start date Jul 3, 2014

MK254

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Kenya Navy seizes ship over suspected drugs link

MK254

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