Kenya’s premier airport which was once voted among having the best airport security is on the spot for all the wrong reasons … a smuggler cleared at the airport was arrested immediately on arrival at Heathrow.
An investigative documentary titled JKIA: Cocaine Highway and run by KTN on Friday October 3 follows a British citizen caught carrying Class A and Class B drugs that included cocaine. The drugs are estimated to be worth millions of shillings.
The man known as Santos is captured on CCTV cameras on May 3, 2025 for a midnight flight on British Airways. The man carried a laptop in one hand, a backpack, and pulled a suitcase in the other hand.
The 28-year-old man is identified as Jess Da Mata Dos Santos, originally from Brazil. Curiously, the man is accompanied by another gentleman who appeared to be on phone throughout as they made their way through Terminal 1A.
The man-on-the-phone ensured that Da Mata’s passport was successfully stamped without any hiccups, and is later seen greeting and having short chats with much familiarity uniformed airport security officers.
Another man identified as either a senior airport immigration or security officer is seen picking Do Santos from the waiting lounge. He ensured that the smuggler’s bags are not opened and checked by his juniors, even though other travellers bags are checked.
Once this hurdle is beaten, Dos Santos boards the British Airways Flight BA 064. However, once he landed at Heathrow Airport in London about six hours later, he was promptly arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police Special Crimes Division.
JKIA is the only airport in Eastern Africa with direct flights to major cities across the world, serving millions passengers and cargo worth billions of dollars.
“Jesse Dos Santos , 28 (26.05.1997) of Mead Place, Hackey has since been charged. He appeared at Isleworth Crow Court on 16 June where he was remanded into custody ahead of trial on 3 December 2025,” read a letter from the Met Police, UK to KTN journalists.
The Kenya Airports Authority officials said it remained fully committed to cooperating with security and investigative agencies.
Security Analyst Evelyne Kemuma however puts the blame at the feet of KAA, saying that people in the control room could easily pick out the lapse in security. This pointed to a coordinated effort by unscrupulous airport and security officials in aiding drug smuggling.
It was not the first time that Dos Santos had made a trip to Kenya purportedly as a tourist. He had made a similar four-day trip on Sept 2, 2024.
Social media users have also unearthed the online photos of the handler accompanying Da Mata Dos Santos at the airport, showing him posing with a powerful government figure and politician whose name is not new whenever narcotics trade is mentioned in the country. Watch the news documentary below:
