NAIROBI, Kenya (Kaab TV) — Kenyan detectives have arrested two Somali women in Nairobi after seizing what authorities say was counterfeit US currency worth $560,000, equivalent to nearly 70 million Kenyan shillings, during a security operation in the capital.
The operation, carried out on Friday, was confirmed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday.
Officers from the Nairobi regional office acted on intelligence and raided a location in the Upper Hill area, where the suspects, identified as Ifrah Ali Jeyte and Qamar Salat Abdi, were taken into custody.
According to the DCI, detectives recovered bundles of $100 notes concealed inside a handbag. The cash was later counted at the DCI Nairobi Area Headquarters, confirming the total amount seized.
Both women remain in custody as investigators continue their probe ahead of possible court proceedings. Officials emphasized that the case is ongoing.
The DCI urged the public to report suspicious activity linked to financial crimes through its anonymous tip-off lines, stressing the importance of public cooperation in disrupting counterfeit currency networks.
Kenya, which shares a porous border with Somalia, has increasingly been a target of money laundering and terrorism financing.
In March 2025, the United States warned that unregulated trade between the two countries facilitates illicit financial flows.
Kenya’s National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment Report, published in December 2023, identified Somalia as the highest-risk source of terrorism financing entering Kenya through both legal and illegal channels.
The report also noted that large sums of money collected within Somalia and entering Kenya pose a significant threat.
Counterfeit and smuggling cases are not new. In October 2022, six Somali women were arrested attempting to smuggle 103 million Kenyan shillings in cash through Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.