Two women arrested at JKIA over alleged attempt to smuggle gold to Dubai

Two women have been arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after a multi-agency team thwarted an alleged plan to smuggle 658 grams of gold out of the country via the airport. The suspects, Mahamed Shukri Abdullahi and Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, were apprehended early on September 4, 2026, as they got ready to board an Emirates flight to Dubai.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the pair was subjected to a search upon boarding, resulting in the discovery of the concealed gold. Abdullahi was allegedly found with a 541-gram gold bar hidden in her hair, wrapped with a hairband and tucked under her hijab. Her alleged accomplice, Hussein, had concealed a 116.79-gram gold pellet inside her bra.

The total weight of the recovered suspected gold was about 658 grams. Both suspects were taken into custody and are being processed while investigations into the alleged mineral smuggling attempt continue. The DCI, collaborating with multi-agency partners, vowed to persistently dismantle illegal mining and mineral smuggling networks, safeguarding Kenya's valuable natural resources from criminal exploitation, the agency stated.