Public questions DCI's timing of cocaine smuggler's arrest, day after KTN's expose

Detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit have arrested a 41-year-old woman for attempting to smuggle cocaine to Dubai through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), minutes before takeoff.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect had allegedly concealed several pellets of cocaine inside her body.

“She turned herself into a smuggling vessel, concealing several pellets of cocaine inside her body in a desperate gamble to outwit airport security. But her plan unraveled when detectives, acting on instinct and intelligence, flagged her for additional screening,” DCI said in a statement.

Scanners later revealed she was carrying the drugs internally.

“Placed under medical supervision, she later excreted three pellets of cocaine, confirming detectives’ worst fears about her risky concealment method,” the statement added.

The DCI said investigations are ongoing before the suspect is arraigned in court.

Her arrest comes  just a day after an investigative report by The Standard exposed security lapses at JKIA, revealing how a 28-year-old man had earlier smuggled cocaine through the airport.

Footage from the expose showed the suspect, identified as Da Mata Dos Santos, carrying a black backpack and accompanied by an aide who allegedly helped him bypass multiple security checkpoints.

Although Santos successfully cleared the Kenyan exit point, he was later arrested at Heathrow Airport in London. Investigations revealed he had made several trips in and out of Kenya using a tourist visa.

Kenyans react

Today’s arrest has ignited debate online, with many Kenyans accusing airport security of laxity and acting only after KTN’s revelation.

“All of a sudden, you can now detect drugs hidden in the body, yet before, even those in bags went unnoticed,” wrote X user, Okuyu Karing’a.

“She’s been arrested because she didn’t grease the right palms,” another user commented.

“After the expose? It has to make headlines for you to act. You might as well be part of the problem,” posted another under the name Spartan.

“DCI, are you saying you can easily nab drugs hidden in someone’s body but fail to spot a suitcase full of cocaine?” added Njama Githua.