Two women are behind bars after a multi-agency team at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle 658 grams of gold out of the country.
The two suspects, Mahamed Shukri Abdulahi and Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, were intercepted in the wee hours of September 4, 2026, as they prepared to board an Emirates flight to Dubai.
Their journey was abruptly halted when officers subjected them to a search.
One of the suspects, Mahamed Shukri Abdullahi, was allegedly found with a gold bar weighing 541 grams, which had been cleverly concealed in her hair, wrapped with a hairband and tucked beneath her hijab.
Her accomplice, Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, had also allegedly concealed a gold pellet weighing 116.79 grams inside her bra.
The two items brought the total weight of the recovered suspected gold to approximately 658 grams.
The suspects were taken into custody and are undergoing processing pending arraignment as investigations continue.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), working jointly with multi-agency partners, said it remains committed to dismantling illegal mining and mineral smuggling networks and protecting Kenya’s precious natural resources from criminal exploitation.
