This archive report was first published on 7 October 2019.
On October 7, 2019, The Times of India reported that a 36-year-old Kenyan woman, Mariam Mweke, had been arrested in India for allegedly running an international drug trafficking ring and evading trial.
Mariam Mweke, who had been living in India illegally, was arrested by New Delhi's police at her hideout in Nalasopara, Mumbai, after a more than seven-month hunt.
The arrest came after a Ksh73,000 ($730) bounty was placed on her head, and it is believed that she had been operating an underground ring since 2016 following the expiry of her visa.
Ms Mweke's run-ins with the Indian authorities began in 2016 when she was arrested alongside two of her associates with over 7.5 kilos of heroin.
After completing investigations, a charge sheet was filed against the three on November 1, 2018, and on January 7, 2019, she was granted bail. However, she jumped bail and evaded the trial proceedings, prompting a search and the placement of a bounty on her head.
Ms Mweke is said to have revealed that she had shifted her base from Maharashtra to Nalasopara where she reorganised and continued with the illegal business. She claimed that her associates used to procure heroin from various Afghan nationals in Delhi for further supply in various parts of the country.
Ms Mweke is said to have been introduced to the trade by Mr Obum Favor, another Kenyan, and began working as a trafficker between Delhi and Punjab. With time, she developed her own contacts and started her own syndicate.
Ms Mweke is said to be married and has a family in Nairobi.
