Meth and Cocaine Disguised as Books and Hair Braids Seized at JKIA

Police on Tuesday night seized narcotic drugs of unknown value at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

The cocaine and methamphetamine destined for Australia and India respectively were confiscated by detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The DCI said the methamphetamine was concealed in books while cocaine was disguised as hair braids.

Without revealing the quantity of the drugs seized, authorities said methamphetamine was sent from Zambia while cocaine is believed to have come from Juba, South Sudan.

No arrest has been made in connection with the illegal drugs but Kenyan police are liaising with Interpol to track down the traffickers.

“Both consignments were seized pending further investigations, with ANU detectives seeking Interpol interventions to track down the traffickers and bring them to book,” the DCI stated.

Last month, two Lithuanian citizens were nabbed at JKIA with two kilograms of heroin worth Sh4 million.

The package had been stashed at the false bottoms of their suitcases and was discovered during a procedural search at the airport.

Kenya was in 2019 named as one of the international drug trafficking routes, with heroin from Asia and cocaine from Latin America transiting through Mombasa before heading to Europe. The illegal drug market in Kenya is estimated at 100 million Euros a year.