NAIROBI: Police arrested three Danish women suspected of trafficking about 61kg of miraa to the UK at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa.The miraa is estimated to be worth Sh20 million in the UK market.The drugs were concealed in four suitcases.Airport police boss Richard Okweya said the three were boarding a commercial flight to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to connect to Denmark.Okweya said Tsomodis Sarina, Jepsen Jesica and Halberg Isabel were held for a few hours, during which they were questioned by police before being charged at the Mombasa law courts here the other day.
They were charged with exporting concealed goods.
Sources indicate that Kenya is under intense pressure to enforce the UK ban on the export of miraa.
Okweya said documents indicate that the women arrived in the county a week ago.
“The khat was discovered at the inspection unit during verification as the women waited to board a flight,” he said.
Speaking to the Star yesterday, Okweya said one of the three is a Kenyan woman with a Danish passport believed to be the mastermind of the cartel.The three had valid documents to be in Kenya legally.
The suspects pleaded guilty to the charges before chief magistrate Stephen Riech, who fined them Sh50,000 each.
they will be jailed for six months if they do not pay the fine.
The UK banned the export of miraa from Kenya with effect from June 24 last year, following the British Parliament’s approval to reclassify miraa as a Class C drug.
The ban has drawn criticism both in Kenya and the UK with miraa exporters saying the ban will render thousands jobless.
On June 12 last year, British High Commissioner Christian Turner said the proposal to ban miraa in the UK was not targeted at Kenya, but was a consideration that has been ongoing for a long time.
“The UK government has had a long-standing intention to review the legal status of miraa aimed at ensuring that the UK does not become a hub for international khat smuggling,” he said.
lamic banking assets reach Rs14.47 trillion, sector share rises to 23%
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Islamic banking sector expanded during 2025, increasing its share in the country’s financial system with assets reaching nearly...
