DCI Disrupt Drug Cartel After Arresting Woman With Ksh3.5M Heroin
DCI indicated that the woman was acting on behalf of a criminal organization operating across different countries.
Marvin Chege 
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested a middle-aged woman who was found with narcotic drugs worth Ksh3.5 million.
In a statement on Sunday, October 15, the investigative agency indicated that the woman was acting on behalf of a criminal organization operating across different countries.
The detectives, acting on a tip-off from members of the public and backed by their counterparts in the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU), pounced on the suspect who was ferrying the drugs in a carrier bag through Malindi, Kilifi County.
Narcotic drugs recovered by DCI in Mombasa. /DCI
"A Transnational Organized Crime Cartel has been dealt a blow following the arrest of one of its actors Benta Akinyi Ogola and the subsequent recovery of Narcotic Drugs suspected to be heroin with a street value of Ksh 3,540,000," stated the DCI in part.
"The Suspect was apprehended by TOCU detectives based in Mombasa and ANU detectives based at Malindi who while acting on intelligence leads intercepted the suspect who was carrying a brown carrier bag with the suspected narcotic drugs."
She will be arraigned before a court of law as the search for other players in the cartel continues.
In recent weeks, an increasing number of Kenyans have been arrested by authorities over the smuggling of suspected illegal drugs through countries, using loopholes in airport security to their advantage.
On Sunday, September 24, a 26-year-old Kenyan car dealer was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake, Sri Lanka in possession of cocaine worth Ksh532.2 million, having arrived from Ethiopia via Qatar.
According to Customs Spokesperson Sivali Arukgoda, the suspect had travelled from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Doha, Qatar, before boarding a Qatar Airways flight (QR 654) to Sri Lanka.
The 26-year-old Kenyan was apprehended at the airport's arrival terminal by officials from the Sri Lanka Customs narcotics control unit, having tried to exit the country using the 'green channel,' a lane intended for passengers without restricted or excessive goods beyond the admissible duty-free allowance.
Suspicions were however raised, leading to a thorough search of his hand luggage. It was here that they discovered 180 capsules of cocaine, weighing a total of 4 kilograms, cleverly concealed inside three metal cookie tins.
“He was arrested by customs officers while attempting to exit through the ‘Green Channel’ at the airport based on foreign intelligence received by the Sri Lanka Customs narcotics control unit,” read a report by a Sri Lankan publication.
The 'green channel' is typically for passengers with no Customs formalities, but random checks can be conducted, including luggage scanning and physical examinations if necessary.
Despite this being his first visit to Sri Lanka, foreign intelligence had alerted the Customs Narcotics Control Division, culminating in his arrest.
