By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with CYRUS OMBATI
Published on 2024-01-20 07:54:11
A 36-year-old Kenyan woman was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in India for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilos of cocaine valued at about Sh13 million. The drugs were concealed in the false bottom of her suitcase, as reported by officials. In Kenya, a kilo of cocaine is estimated to be worth between Sh4 million and Sh5 million, but its value can escalate to as much as Sh12 million in the international market, according to police.
According to Indian media, the local police of the Bengaluru unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) apprehended the woman before she could fly out on Monday, January 15. A probe is currently underway to determine the source and destination of the smuggled drug.
Local authorities stated that the outward smuggling of cocaine was busted earlier in the week after a specific tip-off. The investigators reached the airport on Makara Sankranti morning and intercepted the Kenyan passport-holder, who was waiting to board an IndiGo flight to Delhi.
Upon recalling her single-piece luggage, officials discovered a false bottom in the suitcase. Upon further examination, two large pouches sealed with brown duct tape were found, containing white powder later established to be the purest form of cocaine weighing 2.6 kg.
The woman revealed during interrogation that she had come to India in August 2023 on a tourist visa and resided in Mumbai before reaching Bengaluru this year. She was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and remanded to judicial custody while being sent to Bengaluru Central Prison.
The investigation revealed that she had come to Bengaluru on the pretext of textile trade but is suspected to have sourced the cocaine from her connections in the city. The substance is believed to be of South American origin.
Throughout 2023, several Kenyans have been arrested in drug-related cases abroad, including incidents in Mumbai and New Delhi.
In December, a Kenyan woman passenger was arrested at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for allegedly smuggling 1.4 kilos of cocaine valued at approximately Sh8 million. In June, Indian authorities detained a Kenyan woman at the New Delhi airport for smuggling 2.5 kilograms of cocaine from Addis Ababa, concealed in whisky bottles. And on September 24, a Kenyan car dealer was arrested in Sri Lanka at the Bandaranaike International Airport with 4 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated Sh24 million.
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