Cocaine surprise: Kenyan women’s shocking 3-kilo stash at Phuket Airport
Phuket International Airport officials recently detained three Kenyan women, who were found carrying nearly 3 kilogrammes of cocaine. The narcotics, estimated to be worth approximately 10 million baht, were concealed within their bodies.
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board had earlier tipped off local police and customs officials about foreign nationals smuggling cocaine into the country through Phuket Airport. Acting on this information, officers conducted body searches on the Kenyan women on Tuesday. Initial searches yielded no illicit substances, according to the Sakhu police chief.
However, subsequent X-ray examinations at Thalang Hospital revealed a different picture. The scans uncovered capsules of cocaine swallowed by the Kenyan women while the larger bars of the drug had been into their vaginas, said police. According to police, the total amount of cocaine recovered added up to 2,857 grammes.
Police Colonel Salan Santisatsanakul, chief of the Sakhu Police Station, identified the suspects as 26 year old Faith Wanza Musembi, who was carrying 1,620 grammes of cocaine, 26 year old Nelly Gacheri Ruuri, who was carrying 765 grammes of the illicit drug, and 34 year old Grace Wangari Karok, who had 472 grammes of the illegal narcotics on her person. The Kenyan women were charged with colluding to possess Category 2 drugs and have since been transferred to Sakhu Police Station for further legal action.
Authorities seized 2,857 grammes of cocaine from the suspects’ bodies. The narcotics were later displayed at the Sakhu Police Station, with one image showing the cocaine retrieved from the stomach of one of the Kenyan women.
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges law enforcement agencies face in curbing the illegal narcotics trade, which often involves innovative smuggling tactics.
In related drug news, last month Police arrested an Aussie man at a luxury accommodation in Phuket on August 10 after the foreigner fled a drug charge from his homeland to hide in Thailand. Read more about the story HERE.
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