Two Chinese nationals have been been arrested by police officers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
According to thee airport police, the two were nabbed on Thursday, February 24, trying to illegally export 5.5 tonnes of fish to China through the JKIA cargo section .The police added that the foreigners failed to present proper documentation for the exportation of the goods.
The consignment of live deep Crabs worth Ksh11.4M were being stored at a storage facility in Utawala before they were ferried to JKIA to be shipped.
The two suspects are currently being held at the JKIA Police Station for further questioning and processing. Their passports have also been confiscated pending investigations. Police officers are also holding the consignment at the warehouse at JKIA.
In recent times, the security at JKIA has been beefed up following an increase in the incidents of smuggling of natural resources such as gold and ivory. Travellers have also been intercepted with large sums of money which they have failed to account for.
On Thursday, February 17, a Kenyan who had touched down from in the country from Bujumbura, Burundi was nabbed by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs Officers with Ksh238 million. The money was packed as a parcel containing 2 million dollars and was seized following a wrongful declaration of the intended destination.
"Upon arrival, the passenger made a declaration of the currency indicating the origin as Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) to a recipient Brinks Global Services, Kenya," a statement from the taxman read in part.
The traveller was first cleared by the Customs Unit at the airport but he later showed the same cash at the Swissport Cargo shed with different export documents for shipment to Global Services, United Kingdom. Officials noticed that the documents supporting the export request were different from the ones that were earlier produced on entry into the country.
In February 2020, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) apprehended three Chinese Nationals at JKIA who were trying to flee the country pending a legal case against them .
The three who were arrested and charged with engaging in the business of selling banned gambling machines without work permits were attempting to escape the country.
In 2016, three Chinese Nationals were nabbed when they attempted to ferry processed ivory and lion teeth to China. The goods which were concealed as rings and necklaces were detected during the regular screening at the check out point.
