Five women arrested in botched cocaine trafficking at JKIA

Detectives from anti-narcotics said they noted the nose candy stuffed in a woman’s undergarments

In Summary
  • After a moment of interrogation by female anti-narcotics officers, the woman claimed to have been recruited by a Ugandan national who resides in Nairobi.
  • The detectives traced the Ugandan national to Accra Road in Nairobi CBD and arrested her, police said.
Arrest
Arrest
Image: FILE

At least five women have been arrested in a botched cocaine trafficking mission to Madagascar from Nairobi.

This led to the recovery of 57 pellets of cocaine the suspects planned to traffic through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport valued at Sh3.5 million

This is the latest recovery of the hard drugs in an ongoing operation targeting traffickers and consumers.

Detectives from anti-narcotics said they noted the nose candy stuffed in a woman’s undergarments and rerouted her travel itinerary to a police cell.

In the Tuesday interception, the woman was reportedly flagged down at terminal A1's central screening area, as she checked in to board a flight to Madagascar.

A body scanner at the checkpoint reportedly revealed suspicious items concealed around her privates, triggering a quick search that saw over 600 grams of the highly addictive drug discovered.

A spot test conducted on the discovery was positive for the coca product, police said.

After a moment of interrogation by female anti-narcotics officers, the woman claimed to have been recruited by a Ugandan national who resides in Nairobi.

The detectives traced the Ugandan national to Accra Road in Nairobi CBD and arrested her, police said.

The second suspect reportedly led officers to a building and into a beauty shop, where a search was conducted and another 33 pellets of crack found.

Therein, three more suspects were also rounded up.

Presumptive test on the second recovery also tested positive for cocaine, weighing approximately 396 grams.

Police said investigations are ongoing jointly with the InterPol team to track down the recipients of the drugs at Antananarivo.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations director Mohamed Amin said their operations are progressing well and warned no one will be spared. 

“We have made good progress in the ongoing nationwide enforcement program against illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. We will not stop,” he said.

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