Detectives from India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have set off alarm bells in the Asian country over a possible powerful drug smuggling cartel operating in Kenya that has moved drugs worth over a billion through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the past month.
In the last three weeks, Indian authorities have arrested two Kenyans and three foreigners travelling from JKIA, the country's main airport, with drugs worth at least Ksh1.2 billion shillings, raising questions about how they slipped through the security checks at the airport.
Indian authorities have heightened security in the country's main points of entry, laying traps for suspects ferrying heroin and cocaine which according to reports are sold in the populous country's major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai.
An Indian detective who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the cases revealed that some of the largest drug busts in August involved travellers who were coming from Nairobi or transiting, pointing to possible collusion with local security and airport officials owing to the tight security checks that people go through at JKIA.
While it is still not clear whether the drugs came from Nairobi, the Indian detectives have increased surveillance on travellers flying out of JKIA.
In the latest bust, an Indian National from Uttar Pradesh arrived at the Kozhikode Airport in Thiruvananthapuram with heroin and cocaine, all of which were valued at Ksh773 million.
Authorities recovered the drugs which he stuffed in his shoes, bags, and a purse.
The suspect departed from JKIA and connected through Sharjah, the third busiest airport in the United Arab Emirates, before arriving in India.
It remains unclear how the drugs passed through the scanners at JKIA and UAE before reaching India.
In a separate incident, two Kenyan women were arrested on August 24 in possession of cocaine worth Ksh25 million.
The first woman was arrested after arriving at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) with 1.698 kilograms of cocaine. She had a flight to Mumbai where she was going to meet a buyer who according to the authorities was also a Kenyan.
DRI officers then laid a trap to apprehend the Mumbai buyer. Police did not disclose the names of the suspects.
According to Indian authorities, the lady had flown from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Nairobi with the drugs. Again, it was not revealed how the lady evaded airport security and whether the drugs came from Kenya.
DRI officers have noted that the country intercepts drugs from different countries, but there has been an upshot of attempts from travellers coming out of JKIA.
Further, smugglers have devised new techniques which could explain how some travellers have managed to evade JKIA officials.
On August 20, an Indian national and his Nigerian counterpart, who departed Nairobi to Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Maharashtra through Sharjah were also arrested after attempting to sneak in drugs using a hollow metal roller packed in a rectangular carton box kept in his personal baggage.
The drug was approximately 3.07 kilograms of an Amphetamine-type substance, valued at around Ksh418.3 million (equivalent to Rs 24 crore).
"The DRI is committed to maintaining constant vigil to thwart these syndicates," the Indian authorities noted then.
Global Hotspot
American authorities have in the past put Kenya on the list of hotspots for drug transit and money laundering, citing corruption and insufficient controls.
Kenya is also strategically placed, with one of the largest airports in the region, serving as a major passenger and logistics hub.
Owing to this, it's likely that drugs and other illegal items slip through security checks, which could place JKIA in the radar of global security agencies, risking blacklisting.
JKIA, Kenya's main airport, receives over 7 million passengers in a year and about Ksh300,000 tonnes of cargo, with other 40 airlines that connect to major destinations across the globe.
Kenyan Authorities
On Wednesday, it emerged that Kenyan authorities are investigating the sources of drugs that have been flown to India over the past month.
Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin told the Star newspaper that a police unit within the unit was pursuing leads to bring to book the criminals.
Indian Drug Menace
According to a report by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), smugglers including Kenyans prefer India because of the ready market and the willingness of some top officials to facilitate the trade.
The study identified Punjab alongside other areas, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu as prime sites for the illegal drugs.
In an interview with Daily Wire, Dr Ranjit Singh Ghuman, Professor of Eminence, Punjab School of Economics, noted that the study found that India was largely considered a transit route.
"India in general, and Punjab in particular, are on the transit route of the golden crescent. The increased communication and connectivity have become very handy to the drug producers and for the supply of drugs across international borders. It also led to financing and promoting narco-terrorism which is posing a serious threat to global peace and development," stated Ghuman.
"There are three major global centers of heroin and cocaine production and processing in the world. These are: the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos); the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan); and South America."
