Kenyan Woman Sentenced to Death in Vietnam for Smuggling Drugs

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a Kenyan lady was found guilty of trafficking almost two kilograms of cocaine via the city’s airport and was given the death penalty.

On Thursday, March 6, the People’s Court condemned Macharia Margaret Nduta, 37, for cocaine trafficking.

Nduta was detained in July 2023 while traveling to Laos, according to court records.

Following her arrest, she stated that she had been sent to deliver the luggage she was carrying to another woman after being recruited by a man from Kenya who she only knew as John. “Bring back other goods from the woman” was another requirement.

According to the accusation, Nduta said that John gave her $1,300 (Sh167,000) and covered the cost of her airline tickets.

At three airports, including Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, she evaded detection, she told the court. Before being apprehended in Ho Chi Minh City, she was able to carry the drugs past security checks at both Bole International Airport in Ethiopia and Hamad International Airport in Qatar.

After the woman’s flight was delayed, authorities inspected her luggage and found that it had been altered with a second bottom, concealing the cocaine. This led to the arrest.

More than two kilograms of cocaine were discovered concealed in the bag by immigration officials. According to the authorities, the bags were taken out of the top and bottom of her suitcase.

Nduta stated in court that she was unaware of the presence of drugs in her suitcase.

Prosecutors, however, asserted that Nduta must accept responsibility for the quantity of drugs she smuggled and that her assertion was an attempt to hide her crime.

In the Golden Triangle, which is the area where China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar converge, Vietnam is regarded as a significant drug trafficking hub.

The area is the world’s second-largest producer of drugs. Gangs find the country’s 2,300-kilometer border with neighboring states to be an easy way to carry drugs.

Ho Chi Minh City is a desirable transit location for smugglers because to its close proximity to Cambodia.

The death sentence is applied to anyone found guilty of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in Vietnam, which has the strictest drug regulations in the world.