NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 27 – The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has closed its case against six Iranian nationals charged with trafficking more than one tonne of methamphetamine worth Sh8.2 billion.The prosecution concluded its case before the Shanzu Chief Magistrate’s Court after presenting testimony from 12 witnesses in the high-profile international drug trafficking trial.Investigating officer Inspector Shadrack Kemei told the court 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 suspected of transporting narcotic drugs.The following day, the Kenya Navy intercepted the vessel identified as Mashaallah, which was described as a “dark vessel” for allegedly operating without an Automatic Identification System (AIS).According to the prosecution, the vessel was escorted into Kenyan waters before detectives obtained search warrants from the Mombasa Law Courts authorizing officers to board, search, seize and detain the ship.Inspector Kemei testified that investigators, alongside officers from the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Coast Guard Service, boarded the vessel at sea and served the warrant to the captain, Jaseem Darzadeh Nia.Preliminary searches allegedly recovered two packets containing a white crystalline substance which field tests confirmed to be methamphetamine with an estimated purity of 98 percent.Further searches conducted after the vessel docked at the Kenya Navy’s Mtongwe Jetty led to the recovery of 769 packets of methamphetamine concealed in six of the vessel’s seven compartments.Authorities told the court the recovered narcotics weighed 1,036.044 kilograms with an estimated street value of KSh8,288,352,000.The six accused persons were identified as Jaseem Darzadeh Nia, Nadeem Jadgal, Hassan Baloch, Raheem Baksh, Imran Baloch and Imtiyaz Daryay.The prosecution also presented forensic evidence obtained from five mobile phones and four SIM cards analyzed at the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) Cyber Forensics Laboratory.Investigators further alleged that the accused informed detectives the consignment had been loaded at Pozm Port in Iran and was destined for Mauritius.Additional evidence presented in court indicated that the Kenya Maritime Authority confirmed the vessel lacked registration documents and was therefore considered stateless.Government Chemist analysis later confirmed that the recovered substance was methamphetamine.The six are charged with trafficking narcotic drugs contrary to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act for offences allegedly committed between October 17 and 20, 2025, on the high seas approximately 350 nautical miles east of the Port of Mombasa.Shanzu Chief Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi directed both the prosecution and defence to file written submissions within 14 days.The matter will be mentioned on July 13, 2026, to confirm compliance and set a date for a ruling on whether the accused persons have a case to answer.