Tanzania on Wednesday extradited three suspects accused of drug trafficking to the U.S.
The three, including an alleged drug kingpin, as wanted in the U.S. on narcotics trafficking charges, the U.S. embassy said.
The embassy said in a statement that the arrests of the three suspects, Ali Khatib Haji Hassan, also known as Shkuba, and his two associates Iddy Salehe Mfullu and Tiko Emanual Adam, was the result of collaboration between Tanzanian and U.S. security, law enforcement and justice agencies.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli launched a drive against narcotics in February, reflecting growing international concerns that East Africa is being used as a hub by drug traffickers.
Hassan is reported to have been arrested by Tanzanian authorities in 2014 for smuggling more than 200 kilograms of heroin.
The U.S. Treasury Department said last year that Hassan was a major international drug kingpin who smuggled multi-tonne shipments of heroin and cocaine to Africa, Europe, Asia and North America via his East Africa-based drug trafficking organisation.
The Tanzanian national is also accused of overseeing an extensive drug network in Latin America that distributed South American cocaine into East Africa, before being shipped into Europe and China, according to investigators.
