Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested a 41-year-old Kenyan woman at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after discovering she was attempting to traffic cocaine to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
She was intercepted only minutes before her flight was scheduled to depart.
According to the DCI’s statement issued on Saturday, October 4, airport security and anti-narcotics officers grew suspicious and subjected her to further screening. Investigations revealed that she had hidden pellets of cocaine inside her body in an attempt to sneak them past security checks.
“The trafficker, 41 years old, had literally turned herself into a smuggling vessel, concealing several pellets of cocaine inside her body in a desperate gamble to outwit airport security,” the DCI said.
The woman was pulled aside and taken through an extra layer of inspection. Anti-Narcotics Unit detectives relied on both intelligence and instinct to act quickly. A scan confirmed their suspicions—she was carrying the drugs internally.
“Detectives flagged her for additional screening. Their suspicions were confirmed when the scans showed she was transporting the illicit cargo inside her,” the investigators added.
After being placed under medical supervision, the suspect excreted three pellets of cocaine, providing physical evidence of the smuggling attempt. She was immediately taken into custody, and detectives are now completing investigations before presenting her in court.
Growing Concerns Over JKIA Smuggling Attempts
The incident has reignited fears that JKIA is increasingly being used as a transit point by international drug traffickers. Several similar arrests have been made in recent years, raising questions about how frequently smugglers attempt to use the airport as a passage to the Middle East and beyond.
In one related case in May, detectives from the DCI Anti-Narcotics Unit arrested a 25-year-old woman who was trying to smuggle cocaine to Doha, Qatar. She was stopped shortly before boarding her flight, and her luggage was thoroughly inspected.
Inside her bag, officers found packages wrapped in yellow tape containing a white powder. Tests later confirmed that the substance was cocaine.
Law enforcement officials say these arrests show the importance of intelligence-led screening, especially given the increasingly sophisticated methods that traffickers use to conceal drugs.
More arrests and tougher surveillance measures are expected as authorities continue to clamp down on smuggling through Kenyan airports.
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