Five suspects, suspected to be involved in a significant cocaine-smuggling operation, have been apprehended by anti-narcotics detectives in Kenya.
This followed the interception
of a woman at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) carrying 57
pellets of cocaine concealed in her private parts.
The Directorate of Criminal
Investigations in a statement on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, said the primary
suspect, Apoko Damaris Adhiambo, had concealed the pellets in her underwear
when she was flagged down at JKIA's terminal A1 central screening area just
before boarding a Madagascar-bound plane on Tuesday.
Upon interrogation, the suspect
revealed she was recruited into the cocaine smuggling syndicate by one Harriet
Asaba, a woman living in Nairobi.
Using forensic technologies, detectives
tracked Asaba to Accra Road in Nairobi and arrested her.
“A woman's stratagem to traffic
57 pellets of cocaine to Madagascar by escaping the grip of our security
apparatus at the Jomo Kenyatta Intn'l Airport proved futile last night, when
anti-narcotics detectives noted the nose candy stuffed in her under garments
and rerouted her travel itinerary to a police cell,” the statement read.
"In the 10.30pm
interception, Apoko Damaris Adhiambo, 32, was flagged down at terminal A1's
central screening area, as she checked in to board Kenya Airways KQ 256 flight
to Antananarivo, Madagascar.
"A body scanner at the
checkpoint revealed suspicious items concealed around her privates, triggering
a quick search that saw over 600g of the highly addictive gak discovered. A
spot test conducted on the discovery was positive for the coca product.
"After a moment of
interrogation by female anti-narcotics officers, Apoko revealed to have been
recruited by a Ugandan national identified as Harriet Asaba who resided within
the Kenyan Capital.
"Deploying forensic
technologies, detectives traced Asaba to Accra Road in Nairobi CBD and affected
her arrest.
"In the painstaking
pursuit to break the entire syndicate, the second suspect led officers to Free
Area Hotel building and into the VIP Beauty Shop, where a meticulous search was
conducted and another 33 pellets of crack found.
"Therein, three more suspects
namely Nangonzi Shirah (a Ugandan national), Esther Wanjiru, 24 and Sophia
Kathambi aged 24 were also rounded up.
"Presumptive test on the
second recovery also tested positive for Cocaine, weighing approximately 396
grams.
“Whereas prosecution processes have been instigated on the arrested suspects, further investigations are ongoing jointly with the InterPol team to track down the recipients of the drugs at Antananarivo.”
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