Two women have been arrested at JKIA after a multi-agency team foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle 658 grams of gold out of the country through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The suspects, Mahamed Shukri Abdullahi and Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, were intercepted in the early hours of September 4, 2026, as they prepared to board an Emirates flight to Dubai.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the two were subjected to a search before boarding, leading to the recovery of the suspected gold.
Abdullahi was allegedly found with a gold bar weighing 541 grams concealed in her hair, wrapped with a hairband and tucked beneath her hijab.
Her alleged accomplice, Hussein, had concealed a gold pellet weighing 116.79 grams inside her bra.
The combined weight of the recovered suspected gold was approximately 658 grams.
The two suspects were taken into custody and are undergoing processing pending arraignment as investigations into the alleged mineral smuggling attempt continue.
“The DCI, working jointly with multi-agency partners, remains relentless in dismantling illegal mining and mineral smuggling networks, protecting Kenya’s precious natural resources from criminal exploitation,” the agency stated.
