The team of six persons who are linked to dangerous Methamphetamine drugs have been identified.
A Shanzu court established that the Iranian nationals were trafficking more than a tonne of methamphetamine worth KSh 8.2 billion, and must answer the charges against them, clearing the way for the defence phase of the trial.
Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi delivered the ruling on Thursday, September 24, finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against all six accused persons: Jaseem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Hassan Baloch, Raheem Baksh, Imran Baloch, and Imtiyaz Daryay
After the prosecution called 12 witnesses and formally closed its case, Mwicigi concluded that the evidence placed before the court was sufficient to require each accused to mount a defence.
“I am satisfied that the prosecution has placed before this court evidence which, if left unanswered… Accordingly, each of the six accused persons shall be placed on his defence in accordance with Section 211 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” the magistrate ruled.
Mwicigi was careful to clarify the legal threshold applicable at this stage, stressing that the court was not adjudicating guilt or innocence.
“At the close of the prosecution case, the law does not ask the court to decide the entire case; it asks a rather more modest question, whether the prosecution has adduced sufficient evidence to warrant calling upon the accused persons to make their defence,” he stated.
The accused face charges of trafficking in narcotic drugs contrary to Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.
They are alleged to have jointly conveyed 1,036.044 kilograms of methamphetamine aboard a vessel named Mashaallah, described as unregistered and stateless, which was intercepted in international waters between October 17 and 20, 2025.
The magistrate acknowledged the unusual nature of the case, given both its scale and origin.
“In the case before me, the evidence has travelled considerably farther than the ordinary criminal case: from the high seas, aboard an alleged stateless vessel, carrying over a tonne of methamphetamine and eventually arriving before this court,” Mwicigi observed.
He also outlined the boundary of the court’s role at this juncture, noting that a prima facie finding does not amount to a verdict.
“The court must now determine whether that evidential voyage has reached the statutory threshold for a case to answer, without prematurely undertaking the final cruise to either an acquittal or conviction,” he said.
The prosecution team is led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi, alongside Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema and Prosecution Counsel Henrietta Mburu.
The matter will now proceed to the defence hearing.
