In Courts: Iranians in Sh8.2 billion drug haul to be arraigned

Six Iranians who were arrested with a drug haul worth Sh8.2 billion are expected to be arraigned at the Mombasa law courts today, with authorities likely to be seeking to hold them for more days as investigations continue.

The 1.024 tonnes of synthetic methamphetamine is the largest drug haul ever nabbed in Kenya in history.

In December 2004, another haul of cocaine weighing about one ton, worth Sh6 billion then, which was nabbed in Malindi, Kilifi county, was the largest ever bust till last Thursday, when this meth haul was intercepted by the Kenya Navy.

The vessel that carried the haul is stateless, meaning it has no flag; therefore, it is difficult to determine where the drugs are from and where it was going.

It was nabbed some 630km off east of Mombasa.

“The Iranians cannot speak English, and we don’t know whether it is by design or default, thus making it difficult for us to communicate,” an officer familiar with the ongoing investigations told the Star.

The authorities will be seeking the nod of the Mombasa magistrate's court to have the six suspects held pending completion of investigations.

Case against seven youths arrested in June Gen Z protest

Elsewhere at the Makadara law court in Nairobi, a magistrate's court will hear the case against seven youths who were arrested during the Gen Z protests in June.

Abubakar Maina and David Macharia and their five co-accused were arrested and charged with destruction of property during the June protests.

They were granted a Sh100,000 bail each, but they have been unable to raise the amount and thus have been in remand since July 8.

Several bids for a review of the bail terms have been declined by the court, with the matter set for hearing today.

Amnesty International, which has hired lawyers to represent the youth, has criticised the bail conditions, saying the amount is too high and amounts to criminalising poverty among young protesters.