Photo: Two Kenya Airways cabin attendants arrested as they prepare to ferry 40kg of narcotics to Lagos, Nigeria

Two Kenya Airways (KQ) staff were Thursday, November 2, arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with 40kg of narcotics believed to be heroin.

Alfric Otieno and Lennox Chestit, both KQ cabin attendants, were arrested during a sting operation by detectives as they prepared to ferry the narcotics to Lagos, Nigeria, aboard Kenya Airways flight KQ542.

Intelligence revealed that the drugs had been put on board by Kenneth Sinzore, a KQ luggage handler who was also arrested.

Head of Anti-Narcotic Police Unit Hamisi Masa said the two men were arrested early Thursday morning, about 15 minutes to their flight.

“They are being held as verification of the substance goes on,” said Mr Masa. In a parallel operation, the detectives found a residential house used by a drug trafficking cartel as a store for narcotics.

The house, located in Savannah Phase IV estate, is the residence of Austin Obinwanne Igwilo, a Nigerian who police say is at the centre of the drug ring.

The detectives recovered more drugs wrapped in a similar manner as the consignment found at the airport. The Nigerian came to Kenya in November 2016. After his arrest, Mr Igwilo implicated Chadwick Dondi Okoth, a former Kenya Airways worker who in March this year was suspended after being found in possession of $17,000 (Sh1.8 million) while returning to Kenya on official duty. Police said they suspected that he could have been involved in narcotics trafficking all along.

Despite his suspension, Mr Okoth maintained contact with former colleagues at the airport and managed to recruit in- flight attendants to act as drug mules.

According to police, the crew has on several occasions successfully transported drugs to various destinations (unknown to the management of the national carrier). Police who searched Okoth’s home in Fedha estate recovered more narcotics packed and ready for shipment to various destinations.

A similar operation against members of the same syndicate carried out at JKIA on October 13 led to the arrest of two other flight attendants and the seizure of 4kg of heroin.

According to the police, the other members of the syndicate assumed that attention had shifted from the airport following the earlier operation. However, Masa told the press that vigilance at Kenya’s largest airport is at its highest and no criminal activity would go unnoticed. Police have intensified surveillance at the airport after it emerged that drug trafficking was committed in collusion with airline staff.