In a renewed effort to strengthen regional responses to drug trafficking, the Director of Investigations at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mr. Abdalah Komesha, today officially opened a high-level workshop focused on enhancing capacity in the fight against narcotics. The event, held at the National Criminal Investigations Academy (NCIA), brought together criminal investigation officers from across East Africa for a five-day intensive training program.
The workshop is geared toward building strategies to counteract new psychoactive substances, synthetic drugs, clandestine drug laboratories, chemical precursors, and the rising threat of online drug markets. It also seeks to sharpen detection capabilities among law enforcement agencies and improve cross-border collaboration.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Komesha underscored the urgency of addressing shifting drug trafficking trends. “The training will also address the trafficking routes in Africa, as well as challenges faced in identifying and fighting the new psychoactive substances. This will assist our law enforcement officers in understanding the main criminal organisations involved in the phenomenon and to be proactive in dealing with the issue,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the knowledge gained would enhance the participants’ operational capacity and position them as regional leaders in the fight against narcotics.
Mr. Komesha also extended his appreciation to the Government of Italy, represented through its Ministry of Interior – Central Directorate for Drug Services, and to the European Union, whose support through the EU-ACT 2 Program has been instrumental in building the skills of anti-narcotic investigators.
The opening ceremony was attended by senior officials including Mr. Sospeter Munyi, Commandant of NCIA, Mr. Samuel Laboso, Director of the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU), Mr. Adan Guyo, Deputy Director of Training (OGW), and Dr. Marco Azzarone, Security Expert at the Italian Embassy in Nairobi, among others.
The workshop marks a crucial step in developing a unified, informed, and agile law enforcement response to drug-related crimes in the region.
