Health PS Mary Muthoni.
By Njoroge David
The government has stepped up surveillance at airports and border points to stop the entry of illegal drugs and harmful nicotine products. The move comes amid recent drug seizures at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and rising concern over the spread of nicotine pouches and vapes among young people.
Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said health and customs officers are working with police in a coordinated crackdown led by public health officials.
In early October, detectives intercepted a woman at JKIA minutes before take-off with cocaine pellets hidden in her luggage, according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Around the same time, a British national who had passed through JKIA security with Class A and B drugs worth millions of shillings was arrested in London, exposing the airport as a growing transit point in global drug trafficking networks.
Muthoni urged young people in the Mt. Kenya region and across the country to avoid the new nicotine products, warning that many users are already being treated for respiratory illnesses and some for cancer.
“Some of these flavoured products are marketed as harmless, but they’re causing real damage,” said Muthoni.
Her warning follows a National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) study showing that nearly half of university students have experimented with drugs or alcohol, while primary school pupils are increasingly exposed to addictive substances.
The crackdown is part of Kenya’s first National Policy on the Prevention of Alcohol, Drugs, and Substance Use, approved by the Cabinet in June 2025 and launched by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
The policy prioritises law enforcement, border control, community awareness, and rehabilitation, with NACADA coordinating implementation.
