Two women have been arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after a multi-agency security team foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle about 658 grams of gold out of Kenya.
The suspects, identified as Mahamed Shukri Abdullahi and Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, were intercepted in the early hours of September 4, 2026, as they prepared to board an Emirates flight to Dubai.
Their journey was stopped after officers subjected them to a search.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), one of the suspects, Mahamed Shukri Abdullahi, was found carrying a gold bar weighing 541 grams.
The gold bar had allegedly been concealed in her hair, wrapped with a hairband and tucked beneath her hijab.
Her alleged accomplice, Sabriye Farhiyo Hussein, had also concealed suspected gold on her body.
Officers allegedly recovered a gold pellet weighing 116.79 grams from inside her bra.
The two recoveries brought the total weight of the suspected gold to approximately 658 grams.
The two women were taken into custody and are undergoing processing pending arraignment as investigations into the suspected smuggling attempt continue.
Authorities are expected to establish the origin of the suspected gold and determine whether the suspects were part of a wider mineral smuggling network.
The arrest is part of ongoing efforts by the DCI and other government agencies to crack down on the illegal movement of minerals through the country’s airports and other entry and exit points.
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