Patrick Mayoyo
22 March 2008
Nairobi — Two global watchdogs have raised concern over a new wave of drug trafficking and money laundering in Kenya.
The US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the International Narcotics Control agency report raises queries about Kenya's ability and commitment to the fight against drug-trafficking and money-laundering.
According to two reports released by the watchdogs recently, drug barons have been covering their illegal activities in Kenya by paying off law enforcement and other Government officials as well as politicians.
The International Narcotics Control Strategy report released early this month says international drug traffickers are increasingly using Kenya as a transit point for their illegal cargo.
According to the report, drug lords could be laundering about Sh7 billion or $100 million annually through Kenya.
Another report released by the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) says that apart from the country being a transit point for drugs it was also being used as a trans-shipment centre for chemicals used in the manufacture of hard drugs.
The INCB report released mid-this month says Kenya is being turned into a major trans-shipment point for various drugs including cocaine, cannabis and heroin.
It is also used for trans-shipment of precursors, particularly ephedrine and pseudoephedrine used in the manufacture of various hard drugs.
The drug problem in the country is also aptly captured in the Kenya Police Crime Report and Data for 2007 released this month which shows that 5,401 cases involving hard drugs were reported last.
According to the police report, cases involving dangerous drugs reduced by seven per cent compared to the previous year. In 2006, 5,821 cases of dangerous drugs were reported.
Interviews with anti-narcotics personnel involved in the war against drug-trafficking paint a grim picture about the local security agencies' efforts to contain trans-national narcotics trade.
It is also feared that the political campaigns leading to last December's elections - whose results sparked unprecedented violence - may have created the perfect conditions for movement of hard drugs especially through the Mombasa port.
This was because the country's attention was focused on the chaos and the international community's mediation efforts.
A new drug baron with immense international and local connections is said to have emerged at the Coast.
Those who know him say he is the most feared tycoon in town and no security officer can dare touch him because of his connections.
He is said to move around in tinted vehicles and a private security detail which ensures that not even traffic police officers can stop him for checks.
According to sources, he is the link man of a wanted drug baron based in United Arab Emirates.
The man is referred to in security circles as Escobar in reference to the late Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar.
Security agents say the flamboyant tycoon often facilitates the transfer of huge volumes of drugs from Africa, Asia, Middle East, and South America into Europe and North America through Mombasa and the Moi International Airport.
However, the Coast Provincial Criminal Investigations Officer Bernard Mate has refuted reports indicating that Kenya and especially the Coast, had been turned into a drug haven by international cartels.
"Those claiming that Kenya is a centre for money laundering and drug-trafficking should provide evidence to back up their claims," he said.
Mr Mate also refuted reports that a new drug kingpin had emerged after the death of the self-styled drug dealer Ibrahim Abdalla Akasha.
"Since the death of Akasha we have no any other known international drug baron in Coast region and all we have been dealing with are small time peddlers," he said.
Mr Mate however, said police had intensified campaigns against drug abuse and peddling and their focus was on suspects involved in trans-border drug trade.
The PCIO said investigations had shown most of the drugs finding their way into the country and especially bhang or cannabis was imported from neighbouring countries.
However, the spotlight of international security agencies is now focused on the port of Mombasa which has not reported any drug seizure in the past 10 years. Incidentally, many ports usually report frequent incidents of drug interceptions.
Mombasa's failure to follow suit has led to international anti-narcotics agencies pointing an accusing finger at the port suspecting that it could be one of those used by drug cartels to transfer drugs that find their way into Europe and the US.
Britain too has raised concerns about drug trafficking through Kenya with its minister for State responsible for counter-terrorism and narcotics, Dr Kim Howells, saying there was something wrong with security arrangements at the Mombasa port.
Dr Howells, who visited the port of Mombasa in 2006, said it was strange that since 1998, no drugs had been seized at the port. "There must be something wrong with the intelligence information received or something is wrong somewhere," he said.
Dr Howells said Kenya has become a major transit point for cocaine destined for Europe, while the port of Mombasa "was becoming the fastest growing route" for cocaine entering Europe. He described the seizure of a Sh6 billion cocaine in the country in 2004 as a tip of the iceberg.
"Before I came to Mombasa I was in Colombia and the country's vice-president told me that Mombasa and other East African ports are the fastest growing routes for cocaine going to Europe," he said.
According to him, corruption in Kenya was also undermining efforts to curb drug trafficking.
And a director with the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada) Advisory Board, Sheikh Juma Ngao, concurs that the port of Mombasa could be a target for international drug traffickers due to laxity in the inspection of goods.
"Personally I have received reports of suspect containers at the port but there isn't much I could do as an individual or a Nacada director because our mandate is limited," he said.
Sheikh Ngao said Nacada is developing a national action plan to not only to deal with the problem of drug-trafficking but all issues related to drug abuse in general.
Transit centre
According to the UN agency report, Africa is increasingly becoming the transit centre for cocaine smuggled from Latin America into Europe.
According to Interpol estimates, 200 to 300 tons of cocaine are smuggled into Europe each year; a growing proportion of that cocaine is passing through Africa, where it is often repackaged before being transported to Europe.
To fight the drugs menace, the Commission of the African Union has elaborated a new action plan on drug control and crime prevention for 2007 to 2010. The new plan covers a wide range of issues, including drug trafficking and drug demand reduction, and is to be adopted at the 2008 AU Summit of Heads of State and Government.
The UN report adds that efforts are being undertaken by the Governments of Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria to draft or update national drug control plans.
Similarly, in Kenya, a multi-sectoral drug control masterplan is being developed, with special emphasis on law enforcement activities and the strengthening of the capacity of judicial authorities to investigate drug offences and combat drug-related money-laundering.
The Governments of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda also are intensifying activities aimed at countering money-laundering.
According to the UN report, Kenya is among African countries where cannabis is illicitly cultivated, abused locally or smuggled within the region and into Europe.
Kenya is also among the largest cannabis producers in the East African region alongside Comoros, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Uganda and Tanzania.
Used by couriers
It is also said to be among countries in Africa whose international airports are being used by couriers to traffic drugs.
Heroin trafficking and abuse are on the increase in some countries in Africa. Heroin is smuggled by air from South-West Asia.
"Although heroin abuse seems to be confined to areas along trafficking routes, it is reported to have increased sharply in countries in East Africa notably Kenya, Mauritius and Tanzania and in southern Africa (notably Mozambique and South Africa," the report adds.
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