Authorities announced a major drug trafficking bust on Wednesday, which led to the arrests of five women suspected members of a narcotics ring accused of selling cocaine in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere.
The first one to be apprehended was 32-year-old Apoko Damaris Adhiambo after she got caught trying to traffic 57 pellets of the controlled substance, which she had hidden in her private parts. The incident occurred around 10:30 PM, March 26, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as she checked in to board Kenya Airways KQ 256 flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar.
> Mang’u High School Acquires Boeing Plane from KQ
“A body scanner at the checkpoint revealed suspicious items concealed around her privates, triggering a quick search that saw 600g of the highly addictive gak (slang cocaine) discovered. A spot test conducted on the discovery was positive for the coca product,” investigators said.
When questioned in a private search room by female anti-narcotics officers, she revealed that she was employed by a Ugandan national named Harriet Asaba, who based her operation in Nairobi.
“Deploying forensic technologies, detectives traced Asaba to Accra Road in Nairobi CBD and effected her arrest,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said in a statement regarding the case.
This second suspect, who will be charged with running a cocaine trafficking operation in the City, led officers to the Free Area Hotel building and into the VIP Beauty Shop, where the officers conducted a search and seized another consignment of the highly addictive illegal drug.
“Presumptive test on the second recovery also tested positive for Cocaine, weighing approximately 396 grams,” said DCI.
Consecutively, three other women, Esther Wanjiru and Sophia Kathambi, both aged 24, and another Ugandan identified as Nangonzi Shirah were arrested and will join their counterparts as they await state prosecution on cocaine trafficking charges subject to drug prohibition laws, the officials say.
DCI has disclosed that it is working with the Interpol team to track down who could have been the recipients of the drugs at Antananarivo.
> Two Women Arrested After Police Seize Bhang Worth Sh288,000
