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Kenya police intercepts Norway-flagged ship suspected of smuggled weapons, drugs
Kenyan police officers and security services cordoned off Mombasa – east Africa’s main port for hours on Friday and raided a Norwegian-flagged ship suspected of carrying drugs and firearms, police and officials said.
The vessel’s Norwegian owner and operator, Hoegh Autoliners, said it was cooperating with authorities who were inspecting cargo offloaded at the Indian Ocean hub of Mombasa.
East Africa has become a key export route for Afghan heroin destined for Europe. Coastguards and navies from the region, have struggled to stem the flow of drugs through their waters.
“Based on intelligence gathered, the ship is suspected to be carrying firearms and drugs, but we shall confirm that once the inspection is done,” said Francis Wanjohi, the Kenyan coastal region’s police commander.
The security operation paralyzed the region’s main gateway for imports and exports for several hours before authorities allowed the rest of the facility to reopen.
Hoegh Autoliners said in a statement that authorities first boarded the ship, which had sailed from Mumbai in India, after it berthed in Mombasa on Thursday afternoon.
“The vessel’s crew, our local agent in Kenya and Höegh Autoliners’ local African operations team is cooperating fully with Kenyan authorities,” the company said.
“We at this point do not know when the inspection will be completed and the vessel cleared to sail.”
Police sources had earlier said the ship was German-owned and named Mv Hoegh.
In July, Kenyan police seized 341.7 kg of heroin hidden in the diesel tank of a ship – the biggest single seizure of drugs at Mombasa.
