Airport police have arrested a Ghanaian for allegedly smuggling cocaine worth Sh11.5 million into the country.

The 53-year-old man was arrested in on Wednesday morning on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Accra, Ghana. Police said the suspect had hidden the cocaine under his luggage and covered it with carbon paper to avoid detection.

The suspect's suitcase had passed through the scanner undetected but anti-narcotics officials found 2.3kg of cocaine at the bottom of the suitcase after carrying out a physical check.

The suspect said he had been given the suitcase in Accra and instructed to meet a man, who would pick the luggage from the hotel. The seizure brought the value of drugs seized at the airport in the last four months to over Sh160 million. The drugs were mainly cocaine and heroin.

Kenya Airports Police Unit commander Beatrice Nduta said drug traffickers had now stopped using mobile phones for communication to conceal the identities of their accomplices. She said they had also resorted to using elderly travellers to avoid suspicion.