Sh1.3bn heroin haul set to be destroyed in Mombasa
Some of the hundreds of bags containing a substance awaiting verification by anti-narcotics officers in the port of Mombasa after the ship MV Al Noor was intercepted by the Kenya Navy in July. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Security officers first packed the drugs inside the ship after the vessel was fixed with detonators to destroy it.
- Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa said the destruction of the ship would send a strong message that Kenya will deal ruthlessly with drug barons and their agents.
Preparations were under way in Mombasa on Friday afternoon to destroy the Sh1.3 billion heroin haul seized in July in the high seas.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was expected to arrive to supervise the destruction of the drugs and the ship that had been carrying them, even as the High Court on Friday declined to grant orders to destroy the vessel.
The Office of Public Prosecutions had made an application to allow officials to destroy the ship, and the office put up a spirited fight on Friday, citing various reasons.
Mombasa judge Lady Justice Maureen Odero declined to issue the orders, saying she did not want to interfere with the ruling of a lower court, which had directed that only the drugs be destroyed.
DRUGS PACKED IN THE SHIP
On Friday afternoon, the heroin had already been packed in the ship, MV Al Noor, which was to be detonated and sunk in the high seas.
The heroin haul set for destruction weighed a total of 370.8kg. The initial amount was 373.8kg, with 3kg having been taken to the government chemist for further analysis and to be used as evidence in court.
Security officers first packed the drugs inside the ship after the vessel was fixed with detonators to destroy it.
National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) boss John Mututho gave an assurance that the sinking of the ship and its deadly contents would not be a health hazard.
"It will be reduced to nothing. There will be no hazard," he said.
SEND A STRONG MESSAGE
Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa said the destruction of the ship would send a strong message that Kenya would deal ruthlessly with drug barons and their agents.
"We have to tell the world about the negative effects of drugs. If this amount of heroin had been released into Mombasa, all the youth would be zombies by now,” he told journalists at a briefing after the drug was repacked into the vessel.
Mr Mututho warned drug dealers that the law would be implemented to the letter and those found guilty would have all their property seized.
He also asked police to ensure they seize and forfeit to the State vehicles whose owners have been sentenced after they are caught with any form of narcotics.
The destruction will be done 18 nautical miles from the port of Mombasa in an area where maritime experts are allowed to carry out such a disposal.
