NAIROBI,Kenya, Jun 26— The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has closed its case against six Iranian nationals accused of trafficking more than one tonne of methamphetamine worth Sh8.2 billion, paving the way for the court to determine whether they have a case to answer.

The prosecution formally concluded its case before the Shanzu Chief Magistrate’s Court after calling 12 witnesses, including lead investigating officer Inspector Shadrack Kemei, who detailed how Kenyan security agencies intercepted a vessel carrying the massive narcotics haul on the high seas.

Inspector Kemei testified that the Anti-Narcotics Unit received intelligence on October 19, 2025, indicating that the Kenya Navy had launched an operation to intercept a suspicious vessel believed to be transporting narcotic drugs.

“The following day, the Navy confirmed the interception of the vessel, identified as a ‘dark vessel’ for allegedly operating without an Automatic Identification System (AIS), before escorting it to Kenyan waters,” the DPP said.

The court heard that investigators obtained search warrants from the Mombasa Law Courts on October 24, 2025, authorising detectives to board, search, seize and detain the vessel.

The search was conducted jointly by officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Coast Guard Service.

Upon boarding the vessel, detectives recovered two packets containing a white crystalline substance.

Preliminary field tests confirmed the substance was methamphetamine with an estimated purity of about 98 per cent, prompting a comprehensive search after the vessel docked at the Kenya Navy’s Mtongwe Jetty.

Investigators later discovered 769 packets of methamphetamine concealed in six of the vessel’s seven compartments. Authorities seized both the narcotics and the vessel before arresting the six crew members.

They are; Jaseem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Hassan Baloch, Raheem Baksh, Imran Baloch and Imtiyaz Daryay.

Further investigations led to the recovery of five mobile phones and four SIM cards, which were subjected to forensic examination at the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) Cyber Forensics Laboratory.

A government-supervised weighing exercise established that the seized drugs weighed 1,036.044 kilograms and carried an estimated street value of Sh8,288,352,000.

The prosecution also told the court that the accused informed investigators the consignment had been loaded at Pozm Port in Iran and was destined for Mauritius.

Additional evidence showed that the Kenya Maritime Authority established the vessel had no registration documents and was therefore stateless, while analysis by the Government Chemist conclusively identified the recovered substance as methamphetamine.

The six accused face charges of trafficking narcotic drugs contrary to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. Prosecutors allege they committed the offence between October 17 and 20, 2025, on the high seas about 350 nautical miles east of the Port of Mombasa.

With the prosecution case now closed, Shanzu Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi directed both the prosecution and defence to file written submissions within 14 days.

The case will be mentioned on July 13, 2026, to confirm compliance and set a date for the court’s ruling on whether the six accused have a case to answer and will be placed on their defence.

The prosecution is being led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi, Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema and Prosecution Counsel Henrietta Mburu.