Just a few days after the extradition of the Akasha brothers to face drug trafficking charges in the US, another Kenyan has been nabbed at the c in Mombasa, while ferrying heroine worth Sh 10 million.
The 51-year-old man identified as Mohamed Jabir Ali aka Riziki was arrested by the police on Thursday night at the International departure. The 1 kilogramme drugs had been concealed in his shoe soles and was destined for Dubai.
He was arrested at the International departure point just before boarding a Rwandair plane at around 9pm on Thursday. “The man was stopped by our security men on suspicion of carrying contraband,” said MIA manager Yatich Kangugo.
The suspect is said to be a regular traveler to Dubai and where he is suspected he has been delivering the drugs. Kangugo said the suspect was nabbed by Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) security team and the police who detected drugs hidden in his shoes. He said the heroine had been stuck in the sports shoes of the suspect who appeared in a hurry to be frisked.
He said that the war against drugs has been rejuvenated by a directive issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta for the arrest drug barons and warned traffickers that they will not be allowed to use the airport as a transit point for narcotics.
The manager said the airport has seen an increase in cases of drug trafficking but cautioned that his return from the KAA headquarters at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where he had been the authority’s acting managing director signaled an end to the vice.
“We have seen a trend that these drug traffickers have found a way through Moi International Airport. I want to warn that they will not be able to use this airport again,” he said. Since the beginning of the year, about four cases of drug trafficking have been reported at the airport.
On January 6, an Ivorian woman Danho Aude-Bertille, 28, who was headed for Abdijan through JKIA was arrested when her luggage was found with heroine worth Sh 10 million. Moi Airport Police OCPD John Otieno said police are still carrying out investigations to establish the source of the drugs.
He said intensified security surveillance at the airport had resulted in arrest of several people who have attempted to traffic drugs through the facility. “We are still following up some leads to establish the source of the drugs so that we can arrest his accomplices.
