Fred Mukinda
16 June 2008
Nairobi — A Kenyan woman is being held by police in Mauritius, together with six Tanzanian sportsmen on suspicion of smuggling drugs into the country.
The woman, whose name is being withheld for legal reasons, was caught with a bag containing four kilogrammes of cocaine worth $1.8 million (Sh113 million).
Mauritius police said she was arrested at Port Louis, the African Press Agency (APA) reported on Saturday.
The woman flew out of Nairobi on Tuesday last week on the same flight with the Tanzanians.
Three boxers
The Tanzanians were going to represent their country at the 2nd African Nations Boxing Competition. They included three boxers, a coach, team manager and doctor.
Though Kenya is represented at the competition by two boxers and a coach, the woman was not part of the sports team, the Nation established.
According to the APA, the suspects are scheduled to be charged in court on Monday.
A senior officer with the Mauritius police, Dev Ramasawmy, told journalists that they had acted on information that drugs would be sneaked into the country.
Mr Ramasawmy said his officers had kept surveillance at a hotel where the Tanzanian team were booked, some 15 km from Port Louis.
Two of the Tanzanians were arrested as they walked out of the hotel carrying a bag on Tuesday. The others were caught in the hotel.
Police then laid a trap and placed the bag where it was supposed to be picked up by a person who the Tanzanians claimed was unknown to them.
The Kenyan woman was seized moments after collecting the bag.
Meanwhile, 18 job-seekers from Kenya are being held by police in Tanzanian on allegations of violating that country's laws.
Among the people arrested on Saturday is Mr Justus Nyaga Njogu, who sent a text message informing his relatives in Nairobi that he had been arrested.
According to his brother Mr Muchiri Njogu, the group travelled to Tanzania after being recruited by a local company, Vasband.
Start work
He told the Nation that the company had done the exercise on behalf of West Montage, a company based in Tanzania.
The Kenyans had hoped to start work in Dar-es-Salaam after a three-day orientation in the country.
They would have been hired to instal new telecommunications equipment in the country.
Mr Njogu also said that West Montage had been contracted by Huawei, an Asian company in Tanzania.
Resolve matter
"We had hoped the Tanzanian police would help resolve the matter but they were told it was being handled by the Immigration Department and so the police were not allowed to interfere," said Mr Njogu.
Speaking to the Nation by telephone, Mr Njogu said the group was apprehensive about the charges that would be preferred against them. "They are being held because they did not have work permits but we cannot know for sure until they appear in court tomorrow (today)," he said.
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