Kenyan Arrested for Trafficking Over 2kg of Cocaine at Vietnam Airport

A Kenyan woman has been arrested at the Tan Son Nhat airport in Vietnam with 2.3 kilograms of cocaine. 

The woman managed to avoid detection at three airports including the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The 35-year-old woman successfully smuggled the drugs through security checks at both the Bole International Airport in Ethiopia and the Hamad International Airport in Qatar before being caught in Ho Chi Minh. The arrest was made after officials checked the woman's luggage and discovered that her suitcase had been modified with a second bottom where the cocaine was hidden. The value of the drugs found was estimated to be around Sh 349 million.

How the woman managed to dodge the airport security systems remains a mystery. Vietnam is known as a crucial hub for drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle, a region where China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar intersect. The region is the second-largest drug-producing area in the world. The country's 2,300 km border with neighbouring states makes it a convenient route for gangs to smuggle drugs. 

Smugglers find Ho Chi Minh City an attractive transit point due to its proximity to Cambodia. Vietnam has the strictest drug laws globally and anyone found guilty of possessing or smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine could face the death penalty. 

Last month, an Indian customs official reported that a Kenyan woman had been apprehended for smuggling 2.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in whiskey bottles. The woman was detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi after arriving from Kenya via Addis Ababa. The three whiskey bottles containing the cocaine were discovered in a bag belonging to a duty-free shop. In February, another passenger was arrested in India for attempting to smuggle heroin having arrived in Mumbai from Harare via Nairobi.