The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers on Tuesday arrested a United States citizen who ingested several pellets of cocaine in a bid to traffic them from Alabama to Saudi Arabia.
According to the detectives, the suspected drug trafficker was nabbed after a tip-off from a doctor at a hospital in Nairobi.
The suspect, who is currently recuperating, had on Sunday, February 16, been taken to the hospital by his friend and was admitted for examination after exhibiting symptoms of excessive drugging.
Moments after being admitted, the doctor promptly alerted anti-narcotics detectives from DCI Headquarters who visited the facility to witness an endoscopy process on the suspect.
Pellets suspected to be cocaine recovered from the body of an American citizen on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
Photo
DCI
During the process, three pellets were recovered from the suspect’s rectum which turned out to be cocaine weighing 57.98 grams. The DCI officers took the pellets and documented the incident.
“The doctor also confirmed the presence of an extra pellet stuck in the suspect’s small intestines, and medical help is being offered to have it removed,” the DCI officers revealed.
While interrogating the suspect, the detectives established that the American national temporarily resided at a short-stay apartment in Nairobi’s Westlands area.
He was due to board Ethiopian Airlines at around 6 pm yesterday when he was suddenly taken ill. According to the officers, the suspect was to travel to Saudi Arabia through Addis Ababa.
“His travel and personal documents have been confiscated pending his recovery, whereafter he will face relevant drug trafficking charges,” the detectives noted.
The arrest of the US national followed moments after DCI officers based at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) seized suspected amphetamines from a shipment destined for Australia from Burundi.
The discovery was made on Tuesday afternoon during a verification exercise where tests on the whitish crystalline substance found stashed in the carton and wrapped using a yellow sellotape tested positive for the highly addictive drug.
The stimulant had been concealed in 10 large candles packed in a carton, however, the detectives could not establish the owners of the consignment, prompting them to launch a manhunt.
DCI Headquarters, Kiambu Road, Nairobi.
Photo
DCI