A 43-year-old Kenyan woman has been arrested by Indian customs officials for smuggling 1.7 kilograms of cocaine worth between Ksh225 million and Ksh300 million. She was apprehended at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after authorities acted on intelligence about her movements.
The woman had traveled from Nairobi to Delhi through Doha, carrying illegal narcotics in her luggage. Upon her arrival, customs agents discovered four packages containing a powdered substance hidden inside her trolley bag.
A field test later confirmed that the substance was cocaine. The total weight of the seized contraband was 1,789 grams, and its estimated street value ranged between Ksh225 million and Ksh300 million, depending on its purity.
Authorities questioned the woman and detained her under India’s Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, which criminalizes the smuggling of commercial quantities of illegal drugs.
During interrogation, she admitted that another woman had handed her the package in Nairobi, instructing her to deliver it to a contact in Delhi. In return, she was promised Ksh100,000 upon successful delivery.
Investigators are now examining her travel history to determine whether she has smuggled drugs into India before.
This arrest comes shortly after the case of another Kenyan national, Margaret Nduta, who was sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
On March 6, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court upheld her execution sentence, reinforcing the country’s strict laws against narcotics offenses.
Nduta had been caught with a large quantity of drugs and was convicted under Vietnam’s harsh anti-drug regulations.
Following her sentencing, the Kenyan government launched efforts to negotiate her repatriation, seeking to have her serve her sentence in Kenya instead of facing execution in Vietnam.
However, there has been no reported progress in these negotiations. Nduta has since filed an appeal against her sentence, hoping for a reduction or reconsideration of the punishment.
The two cases highlight the increasing number of Kenyan nationals getting involved in international drug trafficking, particularly in Asia, where laws against drug offenses are among the strictest in the world.
Many traffickers are lured by the promise of quick money, unaware of the severe consequences they face if caught. These arrests serve as a warning about the risks of engaging in drug smuggling, especially in countries with zero tolerance for such crimes.
Authorities in Kenya and other nations continue to cooperate with foreign agencies to crack down on drug trafficking networks and prevent more citizens from getting entangled in these dangerous operations.
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