JKIA drug smugglers busted in Sh21.8million Meth haul
Police have intercepted two consignments of methamphetamine worth Sh21.8 million at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, dealing a significant blow to an international drug trafficking network.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the National Police Service said the operation was carried out by a multi-agency team led by Anti-Narcotics detectives.
According to the police, the first consignment, weighing 1,730 grams and valued at Sh13.8 million, had been cleverly concealed in items declared as car pistons.
Investigators established that the shipment originated from Tanzania and was destined for the Philippines.
In a related operation, officers intercepted a second consignment weighing 1,020 grams and valued at Sh8 million.
The package, traced to Juja in Kiambu County, was also en route to the same destination.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend suspects linked to the trafficking syndicate behind the shipments.
The latest seizure adds to a string of recent anti-narcotics operations by Kenyan authorities. Months earlier, security agencies confiscated more than one tonne of methamphetamine in the Indian Ocean and arrested six suspects aboard a flagless vessel.
The operation followed intelligence sharing between the Regional Narcotics Interagency Fusion Cell and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre.
During that operation, officers recovered 769 packets of a crystalline substance weighing 1,024 kilograms. Forensic analysis by the Government Chemist confirmed the substance to be methamphetamine with a purity level of 98 per cent.
Separately, at JKIA, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations previously arrested a suspected drug courier attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
The 34-year-old suspect had arrived from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was intercepted shortly after landing.
Authorities reported that the suspect had ingested multiple pellets of cocaine.
She later excreted 14 pellets under observation, and a subsequent medical scan confirmed no additional drugs remained in her system. She remains in custody pending arraignment as investigations continue.
