A woman suspected of involvement in narcotics trafficking has been arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while attempting to leave the country for Bangladesh.
Jane Waithera Wateri was intercepted by detectives from the Kenya Airports Criminal Investigations (KACI) unit shortly before she could board her flight.
The arrest followed a stop order issued by the National Anti-Narcotics Investigations Bureau (NANIB), which had reportedly been tracking her since last year over suspected links to the drug trade.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), detectives searched Wateri after stopping her at the airport. During the search, they recovered three small bags containing a substance that tested positive for cocaine in a preliminary field test.
The substance weighed approximately 3,383 grams and had an estimated street value of Sh13,530,720, according to investigators.
Wateri was subsequently taken into custody and is being held at the JKIA Police Station as investigations continue.
Detectives from NANIB and the Financial Investigations unit are also working to establish where the suspected drugs came from and whether other people were involved in the alleged trafficking operation.
The arrest has also attracted attention because of a personal message shared by Paul Neko, who described Wateri as a close friend.
His message focused not only on the accusations facing her but also on what he described as her difficult journey before she was allegedly drawn into the drug trade.
Neko recalled knowing Wateri as a hardworking woman who was trying to make an honest living. He linked her alleged involvement in the drug trade to the economic difficulties many people have faced, while questioning who introduced her to the business.
In his message, he wrote:
“My friend Jane Waithera Wateri, I warned you.I told you that in the drug trade, the barons are the ones who make fortunes while the desperate couriers pay the ultimate price. Under Uhuru’s leadership, I knew you as a hardworking woman.
You were always busy, determined and trying to make an honest living. Then life became harder.
The cost of living rose, opportunities disappeared and poverty started pushing good people into desperate decisions. But Jane, who introduced you to this life?
Since when did survival become worth risking your freedom and your entire future? I remember you telling me you had left that life. You said you would go back to church. I believed you. I thought you had found your way back.
What happened, my dear? You trafficked drugs worth KSh20 million, yet you were promised only KSh200,000 for the delivery. Look at that mathematics.
Someone else makes millions while you carry the risk, the arrest, the prison sentence and the shame. That is the cruelty of the drug trade.”
Neko further questioned whether the people who allegedly recruit couriers remain close to them once arrests are made. He argued that people carrying drugs often face the immediate consequences while those higher up in trafficking networks may remain out of sight.
He also expressed disappointment over Wateri’s situation, recalling that she had previously told him she had left the life and intended to return to church.
Detectives are expected to examine the suspected cocaine, trace its source and establish whether the arrest is connected to a wider trafficking network.
Neko ended his message by urging Wateri to face the legal process and tell the truth through the proper channels.
“The drug barons may count their millions. The courier counts the years,” he wrote.
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