3,300 Arrested as Kenya Intensifies Crackdown on Illegal Alcohol and Drugs

Kenya has stepped up its crackdown on illicit alcohol and narcotics, with authorities moving to seize and forfeit assets linked to the trade.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said more than 3,300 people had been arrested and over 675,000 litres of illegal alcohol seized since President William Ruto ordered a nationwide crackdown in January. Speaking in Bamburi during the destruction of methamphetamine, Mr Murkomen said nearly 386,000 litres of the seized alcohol had already been destroyed. 

He said the government was now focusing not only on removing illegal substances from circulation, but also on dismantling the financial networks that support the trade.

“All assets used in or acquired through drug trafficking and the illicit alcohol trade will be treated as proceeds of crime, promptly frozen and forfeited to the State,” he said.

Mr Murkomen said President Ruto had directed that recovered assets be used to support rehabilitation and prevention programmes. The approach is intended to target traffickers while providing support to people affected by substance abuse.

“We are not just taking drugs off the street. We are taking the profits off the pockets of criminals and putting them to work for the benefit of the very communities they have harmed,” Mr Murkomen said.

Authorities are also targeting premises, land and factories allegedly used to store or manufacture illegal substances. Mr Murkomen cited a facility in Kajago that was allegedly involved in methamphetamine production, saying both the property and the land should be seized.

He said the measures were intended to impose significant financial consequences on those involved in the illegal trade. The government is also expanding rehabilitation services. Plans are underway to establish treatment centres in all 47 counties in partnership with county governments and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA).

The Social Health Authority is also expected to expand treatment coverage for people struggling with addiction. Mr Murkomen said the government would continue pursuing traffickers while ensuring that people affected by substance abuse receive support.

He also warned that government officials found colluding with traffickers or illicit alcohol networks would face dismissal and prosecution.