A multi-agency security team has intercepted methamphetamine worth Sh10.5 million at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the latest crackdown on international drug trafficking networks using Kenya as a transit route.
The operation was carried out on Wednesday by officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit and other security agencies after a suspicious cargo parcel raised concern at one of the airport’s cargo facilities.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the package was destined for the Philippines and had been declared as containing handmade bags and clothes.
However, during a detailed inspection, officers discovered white crystalline substances carefully hidden inside two handbags and wrapped in clear packaging material.
Preliminary tests later confirmed the substance was methamphetamine weighing about 1,320 grammes.
Police said the drugs have an estimated street value of Sh10.56 million.
“The parcel was subjected to a thorough physical examination, during which officers uncovered white crystal substances carefully concealed inside two handbags,” the agency said in a statement.
Authorities have since seized the consignment as evidence while investigations continue to identify and arrest those behind the attempted shipment.
The DCI said the interception was part of ongoing intelligence-led operations targeting drug trafficking syndicates that continue to exploit Kenya’s transport and logistics systems.
Investigators noted that traffickers are increasingly using false declarations and sophisticated concealment methods to avoid detection, especially in international cargo shipments passing through JKIA.
Security agencies have now intensified surveillance at airports, border points, and cargo terminals across the country as part of wider anti-narcotics operations.
The latest seizure comes barely days after another major drug interception at JKIA.
On April 28, 2026, police intercepted two separate consignments containing methamphetamine worth a combined Sh22 million during another verification exercise at the airport.
In the first case, officers discovered about 1,730 grammes of methamphetamine hidden inside packages declared as car piston samples. The shipment had originated from Dar es Salaam and was also headed to the Philippines.
Authorities estimated the street value of that consignment at Sh13.84 million.
In the second seizure, officers intercepted packages originating from Juja Sub-County that had been declared as handbags. A search revealed hidden compartments containing approximately 1,020 grammes of methamphetamine valued at Sh8.16 million.
Investigations into both incidents are still ongoing.
In another recent operation, anti-narcotics officers intercepted 700 grammes of cocaine valued at Sh2.8 million that was being shipped to Jeddah from Busia.
Police said the cocaine had been cleverly concealed inside four storybooks.
The repeated interceptions at JKIA have raised fresh concerns about the airport’s growing role as a transit hub for international drug cartels moving narcotics across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Authorities believe traffickers are taking advantage of Kenya’s strategic geographical position and busy transport links to smuggle illegal substances through international cargo routes.
Officials say investigations are ongoing to trace the source of the drugs, identify those involved, and dismantle the trafficking networks behind the shipments.
The DCI has also urged members of the public to report suspicious activities, assuring Kenyans that any information shared with authorities would be treated confidentially.
