Kenyan woman sentenced to death in Vietnam for smuggling drugs
Macharia Margaret Nduta, 37, has been sentenced to death in Vietnam.
A Kenyan woman has been sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, after being found guilty of trafficking more than 2 kilos of cocaine through the local airport.
Macharia Margaret Nduta, 37, was sentenced by the People's Court on Thursday, March 6, for drug trafficking.
According to court documents, Nduta was arrested in July 2023 while on transit to Laos.
After her arrest, she claimed that she had been hired by a man known only as John from Kenya and that she was to deliver the suitcase she was carrying to another woman. She was also to "bring back other goods from the woman".
Nduta said she was paid $1,300(Sh167,000) by John who also footed the bill for air tickets, according to the indictment.
Undetected at JKIA, Bole and Hamad
She told the court that she managed to avoid detection at three airports including the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. She successfully smuggled the drugs through security checks at both Bole International Airport in Ethiopia and Hamad International Airport in Qatar, before being caught in Ho Chi Minh.
The arrest was made after officials checked the woman's luggage and discovered that her suitcase had been modified with a second bottom where the cocaine was hidden after her flight arrived late.
At immigration, authorities found more than 2 kilos of drugs hidden in the suitcase. The bags were removed from the top and bottom of her luggage, police said.
Denied knowing about the drugs
During her court appearance, Nduta claimed that she did not know that her suitcase had drugs.
However, prosecutors said Nduta's claim was an attempt to cover up her crime and that she must take responsibility for the amount of drugs she transported.
Vietnam is known as a major hub for drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle, a region where China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet.
The region is the second-largest drug-producing area in the world. The country's 2,300km border with neighbouring states makes it a convenient route for gangs to smuggle drugs.
Smugglers find Ho Chi Minh City an attractive transit point because of its proximity to Cambodia.
However, Vietnam has the world's toughest drug laws, and anyone found guilty of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or more than 2.5 kilos of methamphetamine faces the death penalty.