Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have apprehended a middle-aged woman while attempting to smuggle drugs to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 41-year-old was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) minutes before take-off. According to detectives, the woman was attempting to smuggle cocaine.
In a statement on Saturday, October 4, the DCI officers disclosed that the woman had concealed several pellets inside her body, prompting suspicion from the officers.
"The trafficker, 41-year-old, had turned herself into a smuggling vessel, concealing several pellets of cocaine inside her body in a desperate gamble to outwit airport security," the DCI officers narrated.
She was quickly placed on a side and underwent additional screening, only for the Anti-Narcotics detectives to identify pellets of drugs hidden inside the suspect's body.
"When detectives, acting on instinct and intelligence, flagged her for an additional screening. Their suspicions were correct; scans revealed she was carrying the illicit cargo inside her," the detectives added.
According to the DCI officers, the suspect was immediately placed on medical supervision, where she later excreted three pellets of cocaine, confirming detectives' suspicion.
Following her arrest, the 41-year-old was placed under police custody with detectives currently finalising the investigations ahead of her arraignment.
The suspect's arrest has since sparked renewed concerns over JKIA becoming a significant transit hub for drug traffickers. This follows several arrests made at the main airport involving cases of attempted drug smuggling.
In a similar scenario in May this year, detectives from the DCI's Anti-Narcotics Unit arrested a 25-year-old woman for attempting to smuggle cocaine to Doha, Qatar.
The young woman was arrested after the DCI officers conducted an additional check on her just moments before she boarded a flight at the JKIA.
Upon opening her luggage, the DCI officers found a white powdery substance neatly packed and wrapped in yellow tape, only to find that the powder was cocaine.
