A Kenyan woman has been sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, after being found guilty of trafficking over 2 kg of cocaine through Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Macharia Margaret Nduta, 37, received the sentence from the HCMC People’s Court on Thursday March 6 for drug trafficking.
Nduta was arrested in July 2023 after more than 2.3 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in her luggage upon her arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Narcotics were valued at about Ksh27 million in the international market.
In Kenya, a kilo of cocaine fetches between Ksh4 million and Ksh5 million while in the international market, it can go as far as Ksh12 million, police said.
Kenyan Woman Sentenced to Death for Trafficking Cocaine
According to court documents, Nduta was hired by a man named John from Kenya in July 2023 to transport a suitcase to Laos, Southeast Asia.
The suitcase was meant to be received by a woman, and Nduta was expected to bring back “goods” from her.
It was also revealed that Nduta was paid $1,300 (at least Ksh 167,700) by John, and her plane tickets were covered, according to the indictment.
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Nduta traveled through different countries starting July 7 before transiting at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat Airport on July 14.
She departed Nairobi and got through two more international airports, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Doha in Qatar, before touching down at Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, investigators said.
As the flight arrived late, airport employees instructed Nduta to complete procedures to enter Vietnam so they could help her book a ticket to Laos.
During immigration, authorities found over 2 kg of drugs hidden inside Nduta’s suitcase.
These bags, weighing 2.34 kilograms in total, were removed from the top and bottom parts of the suitcase, police officers said.
While appearing before the court, Nduta claimed she did not detect the drugs upon receiving the suitcase.
However, prosecutors argued that Nduta’s statement was an attempt to cover up her crime, and she must take responsibility for transporting the drugs.
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Vietnam Laws on Drug Trafficking
According to the Vietnamese Penal Code, the illegal transport of narcotics is punishable by prison terms ranging from two to 20 years, a life sentence, or the death penalty, depending on the severity of the violation.
Vietnam is a key trafficking hub around the Golden Triangle, an intersection of China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, and the world’s second-largest drug-producing region.
The country also enforces some of the world’s toughest drug laws, with those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine, or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, potentially facing the death penalty.
HCMC is a particularly attractive transit point for smugglers because of its proximity to neighboring Cambodia.
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