Authorities have arrested a group of at least five women involved in a failed attempt to traffic cocaine from Nairobi to Madagascar.
This operation resulted in the seizure of 57 cocaine pellets, which the suspects intended to transport through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, with an estimated value of KES 3.5 million.
This is the latest recovery of the hard drugs in an ongoing operation targeting traffickers and consumers.
Anti-narcotics detectives observed the cocaine concealed in a woman’s underwear and redirected her travel plans to a police detention facility. During the interception on Tuesday, the woman was stopped at the central screening area of terminal A1 while attempting 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.
Following brief questioning by female anti-narcotics officers, the woman asserted that she had been recruited by a Ugandan citizen living in Nairobi.
Law enforcement officers subsequently tracked down the Ugandan individual to Accra Road in Nairobi’s Central Business District and placed her under arrest, according to police reports.
The second suspect guided officers to a nearby building and inside a beauty salon, where a search was conducted, leading to the discovery of an additional 33 crack pellets.
Subsequently, three additional suspects were apprehended in the same location. Preliminary tests conducted on the second batch of confiscated substances also confirmed the presence of cocaine, with an approximate weight of 396 grams.
Law enforcement authorities stated that investigations are currently underway in collaboration with the Interpol team to locate the intended recipients of the drugs in 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.
