The body organ thieves: Frightening new dimension in wave of kidnappings

Police have stepped up the war on kidnappers and recently killed eight suspects.

The killings, by Flying Squad and Special Crime Prevention Unit detectives, come amid reports of kidnappers who may be seizing people to harvest body organs.

According to a victim who reported his ordeal at Kasarani Police Station on September 24, he was held for four days before being released by his abductors after his organs were found to be “useless”.

The case is recorded at the police station as OB 10/24/9/2009 and is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department. Confessions by victims indicate that three gangsters, one of them a woman, have been prowling the city, abducting people who are then drugged before being driven to undisclosed locations, where they are subjected to medical examination with the aim of removing body organs.

Three people have so far confessed that they were kidnapped by the gang on Moi and Kenyatta avenues.

After some tests, the victims are either held further or bundled into a vehicle and driven to isolated locations, where they are dumped. The victims say nothing is taken from them.

However, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe has said no cases of kidnapping for harvesting of organs had been established.

“We have had cases of bizarre murders or people being shot by criminals who attempt to kidnap them but we have not been able to investigate cases of harvesting of organs,” Mr Kiraithe said.

Some diplomatic missions and multinational corporations have issued alerts to their nationals and staff to be cautious of kidnappers.

Detectives investigating the kidnappings have established that most victims are being held in dens on Thika Road or Dandora.

Security consultants working for the foreign missions and multinationals have issued a list of precautions to foreigners which include not driving alone at night and avoiding deserted areas.

Detectives who have begun hunting a gang behind the abductions for ransom on Monday night shot dead three suspects and recovered an AK-47 rifle loaded with five bullets in Dandora Estate.

Two weeks ago, police in Lang’ata shot dead four people suspected to be kidnappers in Otiende Estate and recovered an AK-47 rifle, two pistols and a piece of cloth doused in a sleep inducing chemical as they lay in wait for a victim. Another suspect escaped in a get-away car.

All the suspects, including an ex-convict recently released from prison, were from Ngecha in Kiambu. They are believed to have been involved in the latest kidnapping of a city-based part-time university lecturer identified as Paul Kariuki, two foreigners and a Sudan-based United Nations agency employee.

Mr Kariuki was reportedly held at an unknown location by gangsters who kidnapped him as he drove to his Ngong home on Saturday evening in the company of a friend.

Flying Squad boss Julius Sunkuli last week said they were tracking down the kidnappers, who have demanded Sh5 million ransom for his release.

The victim’s car was intercepted by armed men on Ngong Road and he was forced into another vehicle. He was later freed after his family paid ransom.

The kidnappers hurriedly abandoned the son of a prominent businessman and owner of a bank on Monday after realising that police were pursuing them. The gang had abducted the young man in Westlands and were driving him to their Dandora den when police were alerted.

Paid ransom

Another family recently paid Sh1.5 million ransom to kidnappers. The victim was found tied in a garbage collection area after the money was paid.

A Thika-based businessman was recently abducted near his business premises. He was freed after the family paid the ransom.

A foreigner and his son who had been abducted by kidnappers were recently rescued by police in Kiambu during a car chase. The vehicle in which they were being ferried was involved in an accident in which two of the kidnappers died. The other two were shot dead by police as they tried to escape.

Police spokesman Kiraithe said: “Kidnapping has become the latest crime that we must deal with urgently. We are concerned about the kidnappings and will do everything in our power to ensure the crime is stopped.”