Anti-narcotics officers arrest 33 Nigerians posing as students in Nairobi

Thirty-three Nigerians have been arrested in Nairobi for being in the country illegally.

The men were arrested Thursday morning in Kasarani where they had been staying after arriving on diverse dates posing as students.

Police said they were arrested by anti-narcotics detectives who were pursuing leads on an incident in which drugs are being sent from Nairobi to others parts of the world.

Kasarani OCPD Peter Kimani said another suspect from Eritrea was also arrested in the operation. Kimani said the suspects had been posing as students of two universities in the area.

“When they arrived they declared they were students at the universities but our investigations have shown they are in other illegal businesses,” said Kimani.

The suspects were taken to Kiambu Law courts where police hoped to get more time to hold them as they process their deportation papers.

This came a year after 25 Nigerians were arrested in Kasarani in an operation for being in the country illegally. They were all deported.

Last August, 19 Nigerians were arrested in Umoja, Kasarani and Roysambu on allegations of being involved in scams targeting social media users.

Police say most of these suspects arrive in Nairobi posing as students. Nigerians don’t need visa to come to Kenya.

Last week, police at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport seized a package of heroin concealed in boxes of Lip Gloss totalling to 48 pieces.

The consignment was registered to be airlifted from Nairobi to Port Harcourt in Nigeria. No arrest has been made.

This is said to have led the police to launch the operation.