Mombasa police arrests Tanzania woman in possession of 5.3kg heroin

Detectives in Mombasa County on Sunday arrested a Tanzanian national after finding her with 5.3 kg of suspected heroin worth Sh15 million.

Ms Maimuna Jumanne Amir was arrested by a multi-agency team at the Moi International Airport, according to a police report obtained by the Nation.

The report says she traveled with the consignment from South Africa, through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The substance was hidden in a false bottom and a false top of a suitcase she had.

“It was wrapped in four polythene sachets and covered with curry powder and pepper to disguise the scent,” the police report states, adding the goal was for the package to pass the sniff test.

New route

The arrest comes as detectives investigate a new drug trafficking route from Johannesburg through Addis Ababa to the Moi International Airport.

The drugs are then supplied in Mombasa and Nairobi, police reports say.

In February, police arrested four people on the accusation of trafficking two kilograms of heroin worth Sh6 million.

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The suspects were two Tanzanian nationals, who were arrested within Mombasa town, and two Kenyans, who were arrested in Old Town Mombasa.

The Tanzanians, Mr Said Ali Juma and his wife Mariam Shaaban, were apprehended before their alleged accomplices, Bwana Said Aboobakar, 53, and Mwanasomo Mohammed, 52, were found. The foreigners were repatriated.

Anti-drugs Bill

The multi-agency team in Mombasa County has recently intensified its operation against drug traffickers.

This is even as Parliament pushes for the passing of the Narcotics, Drug and Psychotropic Substance Control (Amendment) Bill, which will help untangle the Coast region from the stranglehold of a menace that has gripped it for decades and attracted threats from drug barons, according to some Coast leaders.

The Bill, which will undergo the third reading next week, says that a person outside Kenya who conspires with another in the country in the illicit trade is liable, upon conviction, to a fine of not less than Sh100 million and life imprisonment.

The person will be deemed as having committed the offence in Kenya.

Enforcement officers, who will aid or abet offences including colluding with drug dealers will be fined up to Sh20 million or jailed for at least 20 years, the Bill says.