A U.S. national, Jarod Tyler Roberts, is currently recovering under police watch at a Nairobi hospital after ingesting several pellets of cocaine in a failed attempt to traffic the drugs from Alabama to Saudi Arabia.
The suspect, who was en route to his destination via Addis Ababa, was hospitalized on Sunday, February 16, after developing severe abdominal complications, prompting urgent medical attention.
Roberts, who was temporarily residing at an Airbnb in Nairobi’s Westlands area, was taken to the hospital by a friend after he began exhibiting symptoms consistent with drug ingestion, including severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
The hospital staff immediately began assessing his condition, and it was during this examination that they discovered signs of excessive drugging.
It was during the subsequent medical procedures that doctors performed an endoscopy on the suspect.
The procedure led to the discovery of three pellets containing cocaine, which were removed from his rectum.
The total weight of the confiscated drugs was recorded at 57.98 grams, and initial tests confirmed that the substance was indeed cocaine.
These pellets were seized by anti-narcotics detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who had been alerted to the situation by the hospital staff.
In a further development, doctors confirmed the presence of an additional pellet lodged in Roberts’ small intestines. Efforts are currently underway to safely remove it as the suspect continues to receive medical care.
Detectives have established that Roberts had planned to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia at 6:00 PM on the day he fell ill.
His travel documents and personal identification have been confiscated and will remain under investigation until he fully recovers. Once fit for questioning, Roberts will face charges related to drug trafficking, a serious crime under Kenyan and international law.
This case is a part of an ongoing effort by Kenyan authorities to combat drug trafficking in the region.
Detectives are continuing their investigation into the network involved in the attempted smuggling, with the full extent of Roberts’ operations still unclear.
The discovery has sparked concerns over the increasingly complex methods used by traffickers to move drugs across borders, with authorities urging continued vigilance in the fight against narcotics smuggling.
