The trial of six Iranian nationals accused of trafficking narcotics worth Ksh8.2 billion on the high seas has kicked off, with the prosecution presenting its first witness before a Mombasa court.
The suspects, Jasem Darzadeh Nia, Rahim Baksh Goharam, Hassan Baloch, Imran Baloch Mustafa, Nadeem Jadgal Abdulgani and Emtiyaz Daryayi, appeared before Shanzu Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi on Tuesday.
The prosecution told the court it will call 12 witnesses to support the case, maintaining that Kenya has jurisdiction to prosecute the matter under constitutional provisions and international law governing crimes committed at sea.
“The vessel was not engaged in legitimate activity but in an organised trafficking operation,” said Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi.
Kenya Navy Lieutenant Colonel Joab Gitonga was the first to take the stand, outlining how a coordinated multinational operation led to the interception of the suspects’ vessel in international waters.
Gitonga said the operation was conducted through the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), a maritime security hub tasked with tackling transnational crime in the Indian Ocean.
He testified that on October 17, 2025, the Kenya Navy received intelligence on two suspicious vessels, MV Igor and MV Chevy, and moved to track MV Igor, which was believed to be heading towards the East African coast.
With support from a Seychelles Coast Guard patrol aircraft, the vessel was intercepted on October 20, 2025, about 350 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast.
The court heard that the dhow, later identified as Mashallah, had no flag, failed to respond to radio calls and appeared to be drifting, indicators the prosecution linked to illegal activity.
A boarding team of marine commandos found six crew members carrying Iranian identification documents but lacking vessel registration papers.
A subsequent search recovered 769 packets of a white crystalline substance initially described as “ice,” later confirmed to be over one tonne of methamphetamine.
The vessel was escorted to Mombasa and handed over to a multi-agency team for further investigations.
