Six Iranian nationals plead guilty to Sh8.2billion meth haul
Six Iranians nationals accused of trafficking narcotic drugs worth Sh8.2billion have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges.
The six, Jasem Darzaen Nia, Nadeem Jadgai, Imran Baloch, Hassan Baloch, Rahim Baksh and Imtiyaz Daryayi, were intercepted in the Indian Ocean on October 25, 2025 while ferrying 1,036 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said that the suspects pleaded guilty to trafficking the methamphetamine before Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi at the Shanzu Law Courts.
“The charges were preferred under Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 1994, as amended in 2022, which the prosecution said has significantly strengthened Kenya’s legal framework against large-scale drug trafficking,” ODPP noted in a statement.
The prosecution told the court that the narcotics were concealed aboard a stateless vessel named Mashaallah, a strategy believed to be used by transnational criminal networks to evade detection and jurisdiction.
The suspects admitted to the trafficking charges before Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi at the Shanzu Law Courts in relation to 1,036 kilogrammes of methamphetamine seized on the high seas between October 17 and 20, 2025, at a location approximately 350 nautical miles east of the Port of Mombasa.
Prosecutors told the court the narcotics were ferried aboard a stateless vessel, a tactic commonly deployed by transnational drug networks to obscure jurisdiction and evade naval patrols.
The suspects were apprehended on October 25, 2025, and arraigned on January 12, 2026, after what authorities described as a complex maritime investigation.
DPP’s team has applied for two weeks to organize and present the facts, requesting the hearing be held on January 30 2026, at the Kenya Navy base in Mtongwe, where the seized vessel and bulky drug exhibits are being held.
Meanwhile, the court has requested the accused to be held at Shimo La Tewa prison pending the hearing.
The charges were preferred under Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 1994, as amended in 2022 legislation that significantly enhanced penalties and enforcement tools against large-scale narcotics trafficking. Prosecutors sought two weeks to consolidate and present the full case facts, requesting that the next proceedings be convened on January 30 2026 at the Kenya Navy base in Mtongwe, where the impounded vessel and drug exhibits are secured.
