Two KQ flight attendants arrested over 4kg narcotics
Two Kenya Airways flight attendants were arrested on Friday night on suspicion of packaging narcotics in sachets of three coffee brands for transportation to China.
Police from the Anti-Narcotics Unit believe the two used the packages to hide drugs weighing about four kilogrammes. By Saturday, the officers were yet to establish what type of drugs they are.
“The drugs were found hidden in the crew restroom of a Kenya Airways plane, Flight KQ 870,” Dr Hamisi Masa, the unit’s head, said in a statement.
According to flight status information on the Kenya Airways website, the plane was to leave the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 11.45pm on Friday, then fly for 12 hours to Guangzhou, China, after making a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The data says the flight was delayed up to 1pm on Saturday and was expected to reach its final destination at 6.30am on Sunday.
When the Nation team visited the JKIA around midnight on Friday, there were some moments when one of the suspects had a pensive look on his face. He looked bewildered.
The other tried hard to maintain calmness. At times, he asked the Nation photographer to go slow on taking pictures.
RECOVERED NARCOTICS
Prosecutors were by Saturday gathering information, with the suspects set to be produced in court tomorrow.
“The two are expected to be arraigned on Monday following tests on the recovered narcotics by an officer from the Government Chemist. Currently, a team of detectives is carrying out a search at the suspects’ homes in Nairobi,” said Dr Masa.
Airport police boss Zipporah Waweru promised to provide information on the progress of the investigations but had not done so by the time of going to press.
Dr Masa said the arrest was a result of a multi-agency operation.
“It is suspected that without the knowledge of the airline’s top management, the two have been working in collusion with former colleagues of the airline to traffic drugs to China, the Netherlands and India,” he said.
“The operation was triggered by a tip-off from friendly foreign security agencies who had observed an influx of narcotics emanating from Kenyan flights. Investigations by Kenyan security agencies unravelled a cartel comprising airport staff and in-flight attendants.”
Involvement of Kenya Airways staff in the trafficking of drugs is not new. One of the major scandals happened in 2002. The airline sacked 33 workers following allegations of drug trafficking.