The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday, July 25,  launched a new specialised border crime unit, the first of its kind in East Africa.

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The unit, the Counter-Organised Immigration Crime Team (COICT), which has 29 officers, has been deployed to frontline border stations after completing intensive training under a Kenya-United Kingdom security programme.

Kenyans.co.ke has learnt that the officers have been drawn from across the National Police Service and will operate under the DCI's Serious Crime Unit.

The unit will, among other things, combat human trafficking, human smuggling and other forms of transnational organised crime.

📌 What You Need to Know

Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin flagged off the team on behalf of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja during a ceremony held at the Border Police Training Campus in Kanyonyoo, Kitui County, yesterday.

NPS says the unit underwent specialised training conducted under the Kenya-UK Border Security Programme, a partnership established through a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year to strengthen border security and tackle organised immigration crime.

Representing the British High Commission, Ben Fisher described the operationalisation of the Counter-Organised Immigration Crime Team as "a landmark achievement" and "the first specialised capability of its kind in East Africa".

The deployment comes as Kenya battles growing cases of transnational human trafficking and organised immigration crime.

The latest U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report ranks Kenya as a Tier 2 country, meaning the government is making efforts to combat trafficking but has not fully met global standards.

Border towns such as Moyale and Mandera have emerged as key transit routes for trafficking syndicates moving mainly Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants towards South Africa and the Middle East.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke