This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
The Rise and Fall of the Akasha Empire ¶
May 2000 marked a turning point in the life of Ibrahim Akasha, a key figure in the Kenyan drug trade. He was walking down a red-light district in Amsterdam to pursue a debt from a Yugoslav drug cartel when he was assassinated.
Akasha's sons took over the empire their father had built, expanding their trade routes and amassing a vast fortune. They used multiple passports and bank accounts to launder their money and evade detection.
By the time of his death, Akasha had amassed over Sh500 million in bank accounts and possessed 60 kilogrammes of gold ingots. The family's estate was valued at Sh20 billion, making them one of the wealthiest families in Kenya.
However, their success was short-lived. In 2005, a new Mombasa port Criminal Investigation Department chief, Mr Hassan Abdillahi, disrupted the trade by arresting several security officers involved in a container theft racket. Three months later, Abdillahi was assassinated, and the Akasha boys were forced to go into hiding.
Despite their efforts to evade capture, the Akashas were eventually brought to justice. In 2014, the US Drug Enforcement Administration sent two agents to Mombasa, who posed as representatives of a Colombian trafficking organisation. The Akashas were caught on camera negotiating a deal to deliver '100 percent heroin'.
Their downfall was swift and decisive. The Kenyan intelligence finally caught up with them, and they were put behind bars, kick-starting a series of cases on bonds and bail.
