Six women have fallen on police radar after an attempt of smuggling Ksh 102 million cash through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Thursday, October 6 intercepted the cash from the six women who were believed to clearing an Ethiopian Airline flight when they arrived carrying luggage containing shoes and clothes.
According to reports, the suspects flew from India to Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines flight number ET 318.
“On 6th October 2022, while clearing Ethiopian Airline flight Number ET 318, some six women of Somali origin arrived at the Customs area. They had with them luggage containing shoes and clothes. As usual, the bags were scanned to establish what they contained,” KRA said in a statement.
“The images showed items that looked like currency. Upon secondary verification, it was confirmed that the luggage contained US currency amounting to 857,300USD.”
The cash was seized and placed in the customs warehouse for further probe.
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In accordance with the provisions of the Second and Third Schedules of the East African Community (EAC) Customs Management Act, the ports of entrance and exit, travelers must declare all cargo and commodities they are carrying.
“KRA encourages passengers to correctly declare all cargo/items at the Ports of entry and exit as required under the provisions of the Second and Third Schedules of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004,” KRA said.
A similar incident occurred in February when a Kenyan man from Burundi was detained with $2 million foreign money at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
The traveler’s package was taken by KRA customs officers who also intercepted him.
After failing to make the legally required cash declaration, he was detained on suspicion of participating in a money-laundering scheme.
“The money has been held and the matter is under investigation,’’ KRA commissioner for Customs and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda said in a statement then.
According to KRA, the traveler declared the currency to a beneficiary named Brinks Global Services in Kenya when he arrived at JKIA from Bujumbura, Burundi, citing the origin as Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB).
After clearance by Customs Unit at the airport, the traveler later presented the same money at the Swissport Cargo shed with different export documents for shipment to Global Services, UK.
The documents presented to support the export request were distinct from those used to support admission into the nation.
Just days before KRA had arrested a foreigner at Kenya’s main airport with undeclared cash, the foreigner, a Bahraini national identified as Khalid Jameel Saeed, was intercepted at JKIA with $975,000.
He was in transit to Bahrain through Egyptian Airlines. Last year, Posta staff working jointly with KRA customs officers based at City Square Post Office recovered $28,000 concealed in a jacket shipped into Kenya as a parcel from South Carolina State, US.
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