Drug trafficking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Drug trafficking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is a serious problem. Recent incidents demonstrate how drug traffickers use sophisticated methods to smuggle drugs through the airport. Whether the methods are sophisticated is debatable. The video shows something else entirely: corruption. Nobody wants to call the problem by its name. https://youtu.be/et2AnFrJVFQ?si=IwYDdwrseP2OZCqT On October 3, 2025, KTN News broadcast an investigative report titled "The Cocaine Highway," which exposed the JKIA as the "soft underbelly" of global drug cartels. The report details how a British national successfully smuggled Class A and Class B drugs, including millions of Kenyan shillings worth of cocaine, through the JKIA security checkpoints. He was escorted by airport officials and security personnel, allowing him to board a flight to London undetected. Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, he was arrested by the London Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Division. The smuggling operation reportedly began in September 2024, coinciding with the appointment of a suspected drug lord to President William Ruto's cabinet, which allegedly emboldened the networks. Among the methods highlighted were the circumvention of scans and checks with the help of insiders, making JKIA a "vulnerable highway" for cartels targeting major markets such as the UK and Dubai. Evidence presented included footage and testimony from officials who supported the process. The revelations sparked calls for the dismissal and arrest of the affected employees. There are links to larger cargo frauds and the smuggling of items such as counterfeit gold. Investigative measures and reports have exposed JKIA Airport as a vulnerable global drug transit hub. Some drug traffickers, possibly with the help of corrupt officials, managed to circumvent airport security. These cases involved both Class A and Class B drugs, such as cocaine, indicating high-value drug trafficking rings operating through JKIA Airport. Authorities are continuously improving their drug screening protocols and involving the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Kenya Airports Authority, and the Kenya Revenue Authority at JKIA Airport to counter the threat of drug trafficking. Kenya is also committed to international frameworks to effectively combat drug trafficking through cooperation and law enforcement. @https://www.citizen.digital/news/dci-nabs-woman-at-jkia-with-cocaine-pellets-hidden-in-her-body-n370875 @https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001530959/cocaine-highway-how-jkia-has-been-exposed-as-transit-for-global-drugs-trade