A Shanzu court gave a go ahead for investigators to continue detaining six Iranian nationals at the centre of a major narcotics trafficking probe for an additional 21 days.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said this will be crucial to securing justice and dismantling a sophisticated drug network.
When the matter came up for mention Friday, Prosecution successfully persuaded the court to extend the detention period, noting that investigators are pursuing critical leads before forwarding the file to the DPP for action.
The six, namely Jasem Darzaen Nia, Nadeem Jadgai, Imran Baloch, Hassan Baloch, Rahim Baksh and Imtiyaz Daryayi, were allegedly intercepted in the Indian Ocean with methamphetamine valued at Sh8.2 billion.
The prosecution told the court investigators have reasons to believe the suspects are linked to a highly organised transnational cartel that uses maritime routes to move synthetic drugs into the region.
Further, court heard that detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit recovered seven electronic devices, including a GPS tracker alongside the seized drugs, which are believed to contain essential intelligence on the origin of the shipment, intended trafficking routes and the financiers behind the operation.
Prosecution told court releasing the suspects before investigations are complete would jeopardise the multiagency, internationally coordinated operation one involves sensitive digital evidence and complex cross-border linkages.
The suspects have been in custody for the past three weeks following the swoop in which some 769 packages containing crystalline substances suspected to be synthetic narcotic drugs were recovered, weighing 1,035.986 kilograms.
During the last mention of this case, the court authorized investigators to forward the seized substances to the Government Chemist for analysis to confirm their composition and to submit the suspects’ mobile phones for forensic examination at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.
Further, the investigating officer noted that the suspects are being investigated for trafficking in narcotic drugs, contrary to Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 1994.
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