Armed al shabaab suspects arrested in Lamu
Mombasa Port police boss Ayub Gitonga displays some of the AK-47s and a rocket launcher netted from Somali Al Shabaab suspects in Kipini, Lamu.
Nine people carrying an array of dangerous arsenal were arrested last week in Lamu by Kenyan detectives.
The nine are suspected to be hard-line Islamist Al Shabaab members and were on Monday morning taken to Coast Provincial Criminal Investigation offices for questioning before being arraigned in court.
The men were arrested on Wednesday with different kinds of crude weapons among them a rocket launcher, two rocket-propelled grenades, seven AK-47 rifles, Tokalev pistol, seven ammunition pouches and 361 rounds of ammunition.
Coast provincial police boss Leo Nyongesa said the suspects were arrested in Kipini and an armoury was recovered buried near the Indian Ocean. Mr Nyongesa said there was a communication barrier between the police and the men suspected to have come from war torn Somali.
“Since were arrested, we have been making efforts to get any other information which will help us but now police have reach a final stage where we can arraign them in court any time from now,” said Mr Nyongesa.
According to a source privy to the police who did not want to be named told the Nation, the suspects were brought to Mombasa on Thursday night under a tight security and are being held at Port police station.
Mr Nyongesa said a contingent of detectives have been deployed to the Kenyan border to beef up security to reduce influx of the suspects.
“We have intensified security on our borders from Malindi, Lamu to Kiunga following the increasing number of terror suspects,” said the PPO.
At the same time, source revealed that about 20 illegal suspects have also been arrested in Lamu on Sunday. The PPO confirmed but denied to give more details about those arrested.
“I have sent a reinforcement team led by my deputy Henry Barmao and I hope to get details soon,” he said.
Government has been on the spot light in the past two months after civil societies revealed that several youth have been training in Lamu to help Somali government to fight Al Shaabab reports which the government has denied.
Earlier, Coast Provincial Commissioner maintained that the Kenyan border in Lamu was still closed and any Somali found in the country is there illegally.
