300 bullets found hidden in cabbages

Police in Nyeri have seized 300 bullets stuffed in a bag full of cabbages.

A man said to be the owner of the bag was arrested in Karatina Town in a matatu from Isiolo, according to witnesses.

Unconfirmed reports said an AK-47 was also recovered. The seizure comes as security agencies have been alerted on the proliferation of illegal firearms in the region.

Two months ago, police arrested a man at Matuu on the Nairobi-Garissa highway with seven guns and 27 rounds of ammunition.

No questions asked

Central provincial commissioner Japhter Rugut said security agents were on the lookout for weapons from northern Kenya, from where criminals could be smuggling weapons to escape a disarmament programme launched in places like Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit and Samburu.

More than 500 guns and 1,500 bullets have been recovered from those areas. The disarmament follows an amnesty period during which pastoralists were asked to give up their weapons with no questions asked.

But some villagers have refused to surrender their weapons due to an entrenched gun culture in which the weapons are used to raid other communities for livestock.

Police believe these individuals are smuggling the weapons to other areas, including Central and Nairobi provinces, and have intensified vehicle searches, especially those travelling from northern Kenya.

Detectives believe about 200 illegal firearms may have fallen into criminal hands through this network.