Police escort a man during extradition. /AIKenyan authorities have extradited a Lebanese who detectives say is wanted in the US for narcoterrorism and money laundering.
Narcoterrorism refers to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence.
In a statement on Thursday, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the man was a fugitive who was on the red notice from the National Capital Bank (NCB) in Washington, DC, USA.
The suspect was handed over to US authorities by the DCI Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) detectives on Thursday.
If someone is extradited, they are officially sent back to their own or another country to be tried for a crime that they have been accused of.
The DCI said the suspect was arrested earlier this year by the ANU detectives, who were acting on the NCB red notice and an arrest warrant from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
"Upon arrest at a hotel within Kiambu county, the suspect, who had earlier arrived onboard a Qatar Airways plane, was taken to Gigiri police station pending arraignment in court for the start of the extradition process," DCI boss Mohamed Amin said in the statement.
He said upon conclusion of the process, the suspect was handed over to US security agents as per Milimani Magistrate's Court order.
The extradition was ratified by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution vide a warrant of surrender dated May 2, 2025.
"The fugitive was escorted by DEA Special Agents alongside a Senior Prosecutor from the office of Director of Public Prosecutions Kenya (ODPP)," Amin said.
He country's top detective reaffirmed the DCI's commitment to continue working with local and foreign law enforcement agencies to make Kenya unattractive for transnational criminals, manufacturers, sellers and consumers of illicit drugs, money launderers, terrorists, and other lawbreakers.
