Nairobi, Kenya: Two West African men- a Nigerian and Ghanaian arrested as they tried to fly out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport had heroin valued at Sh17.6 million.
Police say tests had shown the Ghanaian had 4.9 kilos of heroin valued at Sh14.9 million while the Nigerian had 927 grammes of the narcotics valued at Sh2.7 million.
The Ghana in who was arrested on February 28 had ingested some of the narcotics while some were in the bottom of his bag.
According to airport DCI boss Joseph Ngisa, the Nigerian who was arrested on February 29 had ingested the narcotics and has so far emitted 70 pellets.
They are both expected in court on Thursday to face charges of drug trafficking.
Police say they were leaving Nairobi to Lagos and Accra respectively when they were arrested and they are yet to know the source of the drugs in Kenya.
“The men have been under observation and would be taken to court to face the charges. Let traffickers be warned drug trafficking is criminal” said Ngisa.
The seizure come a week after another Nigerian was arrested on arrival at JKIA and later emitted cocaine valued at about Sh5 million.
The arrest is the latest in a series of others that have happened in the past days. Most traffickers arrested at JKIA are usually on transit.
Anti-narcotics police officers say most of the drugs being consumed in Nairobi originate Tanzania through the Namanga border.
The traffickers had also been avoiding airports for roads, which are poorly manned to traffic the drugs.
Most of the narcotics that are seized are cocaine and heroin.
Statistics show police at the airports seized drugs valued more than Sh50 million last year alone. Most of those arrested were passengers who were on transit.
Police say they have enhanced surveillance measures to tame such practices especially at the airports.
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More than a dozen Nigerians are in Kenyan jails serving various sentences over drug trafficking issues.
Kenya deported more than 100 drug barons in 2013 in a campaign that is aimed at getting rid of narcotic trafficking and consumption.
Most of the foreigners who were deported had come to the country posing as businessmen and had been here for up to 20 years.
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