The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has officially launched a new specialised unit to tackle the growing threat of transnational crime along Kenya's borders.
The 29-member Counter-Organised Immigration Crime Team, also known as COICT, was flagged off on Friday by DCI boss Mohamed Amin at the Border Police Training Campus in Kanyonyoo, Kitui County.
According to the DCI, this deployment represents a major step forward in the fight against trafficking and migrant smuggling networks that have been exploiting Kenya's entry points for years.
The agency stated that the move marks a significant milestone in their continued efforts to stay ahead of sophisticated criminal networks that take advantage of borders, immigration systems and vulnerable persons for profit.
The team, which will operate under the DCI's Serious Crime Unit, has been posted to key border stations across the country.
They are expected to immediately move against trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, travel document fraud and other cross-border crimes that have been troubling the region.
The training that produced this specialised unit was delivered under the East Africa Border Security Programme, which was funded by the British High Commission. Experts from the National Police Service worked alongside partner organisations VALAR and HAART Kenya to ensure the officers were well prepared for the challenging work ahead.
The officers underwent intensive training covering a wide range of critical areas. They were taken through modules on intelligence-led investigations, investigative interviewing, trafficking and smuggling casework, digital and financial evidence handling, crime-scene processing, international cooperation, victim-centred approaches, human rights, ethics and joint operational planning.
Speaking to the newly trained officers, Amin congratulated them on completing the programme and reminded them that their investigations must meet high standards of professionalism, integrity and accountability.
He made it clear that operational decisions had to be intelligence-led, evidence-based and grounded in the Constitution, the National Police Service Act and other applicable laws.
The DCI boss also stressed their responsibility to protect the rights and dignity of victims even as they work to deny criminal networks access to Kenya's borders.
Ben Fisher, who represented the British High Commission, called the rapid operationalisation of COICT a landmark achievement. He noted that it is the first unit of its kind in East Africa and credited the long-standing security partnership between Kenya and the United Kingdom for making it possible.
Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police Service, APS Director of Security Operations Jackson Kangani urged the officers to turn their training into concrete results.
He challenged them to ensure they dismantle criminal syndicates, rescue victims, secure successful prosecutions and create safer communities through their work.
The DCI says the new unit reflects its broader push to build specialised investigative capacity, deepen inter-agency collaboration and strengthen intelligence-led responses to increasingly complex security threats.
With training now complete, the team moves from the classroom to active deployment at the border, ready to take on the criminals who have been operating with impunity for too long.
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