By Kato Jamil
A major drug bust took place at Entebbe International Airport last week when a team of URA customs officers, working with the Special Forces Command (SFC) and the Anti-Narcotic Police Unit intercepted a large quantity of cocaine being smuggled into the country.
The suspect, a man believed to be Nigerian by descent, arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha at approximately 00:10 hours. During routine baggage screening, officers noticed suspicious images on the scanner.
Further inspection of the scanner images showed one passenger’s bag with tins that seemed to hold something unusual. After a thorough physical check by the Aviation Police Narcotics Team, the contents were confirmed to be carefully concealed cocaine.
The suspect was immediately arrested and taken into police custody. He is currently being held at the Airport Police Station.
This seizure was aided by intelligence information provided to the customs officers by the Uganda Police Narcotics Team, which helped flag the suspect as a potential drug trafficker. Authorities are now working to establish more details about the origins of the narcotics and any connections to organized crime.
The seized cocaine is classified as prohibited items under both international law and Uganda’s national legislation, including; sections 4(1) and 2(9) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act of 2016; The 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic In Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances also outlaws such activities globally.
Drug smuggling at the airport is not a new issue. In March 2023, authorities seized 9.8 kilograms of cocaine worth about Shs 4 billion, linked to another Nigerian national.
Later that year, the Kampala Metropolitan Police destroyed over 56 kilograms, worth Shs. 3 Billion of narcotics confiscated from travelers at the airport, between 2020 and 2023.
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