Artur brothers deported after gun drama at airport

The two controversial Armenian Artur brothers were dramatically kicked out of Kenya yesterday.

The brothers Margaryan and Sargsyan left on a Kenya Airways flight at 7.30pm for Dubai.

The sudden move, came without even the customary court hearing, following their arrest during a midnight operation triggered by an attack on a Customs officer at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

When their home in the upmarket Runda estate was raided, police found a cache of guns and ammunition, plus balaclava helmets and a number of T-shirts branded QRU (Quick Response Unit).

The brothers Margaryan and Sargsyan and two of their accomplices were declared persona non grata and prohibited from returning to Kenya.

The four were deported as police announced in an official statement: "The Government has declared their continued presence in the country undesirable and ordered their immediate deportation."

The two men thrown out with the brothers were named as Mr Arman Damidri and Mr Alexander Tashchi.

Announcing the decision, police spokesman Gideon Kibunjah stated: "Their deportation follows a serious breach of airport security at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport involving both Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargsyan and their colleagues,"

It went on: "At a time of enhanced aviation security all across the world, incidents that compromise security at international airports can neither be tolerated nor taken for granted."

The statement was issued on behalf of the police commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali. It is understood he personally ordered the midnight raid on the brothers' house after the airport security breach.

Guns were drawn in the airport arrivals hall where the Customs officer was assaulted, police said earlier.

And in what appeared to be an astonishing security lapse, the brothers were then able to flee the airport and drive to their home in Runda.

They were arrested there at 1am yesterday together with five other people including a woman and the two other men, who were deported by a squad of about 50 officers.

Police stayed to search the house and grounds throughout the early hours – and found two AK-47 assault rifles and three pistols plus about 100 rounds of ammunition hidden in the garden. 

Also found were a number of balaclava helmets and the branded T-shirts. 

The brothers were taken to a number of police stations, and finally to the office of the deputy commandant of the Kenya Airports Police Unit at JKIA, from where they were deported.

It is understood the raid on their home was hurriedly wound up after a senior Government official called to demand who had ordered it.

The combined team of police from the Flying squad and the Special Crime Prevention Unit, backed by regular officers, had been hurriedly assembled for the operation.

At first the brothers apparently refused to open the gates of their home to the police, who then used a tow truck to force their way into the compound.

Once inside, the fierce dogs Artur once boasted would stop anyone from approaching the two brothers could not protect the Armenians. For the two had obeyed a police order to put their dogs on leashes before the gates were breached.

The arrests came after a series of incidents which began on Thursday evening over a dispute about luggage being carried at the airport by a woman said to be a guest of the Arturs.

Customs officers ordered the woman to open the luggage for inspection, in case it contained any goods which attracted duty.

It is said the brothers entered the baggage areas of the arrivals hall of the international airport – a restricted area – by brandishing "all areas" security clearance passes.

They then protested against the inspection as their guest, who had flown in from Dubai, refused to show her passport to airport officials.

Witnesses said the brothers arrived at the airport in three cars accompanied by bodyguards at around 5pm, and waited in their cars at the parking yard until 8pm.

Their guests arrived aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai at around 6.45pm.

There was a scene when all other passengers were cleared to leave the airport after having their luggage inspected.

But with the woman refusing to have her luggage inspected nor allowing airport officials to see her passport, the confrontation continued as the woman made a series of calls from her cell phone.

It is said that the Artur brothers then gained entry to the arrivals hall, where there was an incident during which a Customs officer was assaulted and guns were drawn.

JKIA is one of the most heavily patrolled and most secure places in Nairobi, with officers from the anti-terrorism squad, criminal intelligence, uniformed police and members of the General Service Unit on duty.

Anyone using the airport has to go through security checks, including searches for explosives, before being allowed to enter the departure and arrival areas.

But in what appears to be a glaring security lapse, the brothers left the airport and made their way to their Runda home.

It was not immediately clear how people without any recognised official security role in Kenya were allowed to pass through the security checks while armed.

In Runda, officers led by Gigiri police chief Patrick Lumumba were forced to force open the electrically operated iron gate of the brothers' house after the two sped into their compound in a convoy of four Toyota Harriers bearing foreign registration plates.

Police said they defied their orders to open the gate.

In the compound police found 11 vehicles including a GK registered Mercedes Benz C220, a black Mitsubishi Pajero, the four Harriers and a Subaru Legacy. 

Mr John Njuguna, a security guard who saw the drama unfold, said the occupants of the vehicles that sped into the Glory Road compound had defied a police order to stop at the barrier into Runda estate and drew two guns before speeding off. 

"We were waiting at the gate when a police unmarked vehicle parked near the gate at about 11pm. Four vehicles of similar make with their full lights on arrived, but when the officers tried to stop them, the occupants drew out guns and sped off," Mr Njuguna said.

He said that with police and security rapid response vehicles in pursuit, the four vehicles drove into the compound and the gates were quickly locked, barring the officers from entering.

"They must have called someone in the house to open the gates for them because immediately they drove in, the gates were quickly closed. They refused to open the gates even when the officers identified themselves," the guard said.

He said that after about two hours, the officers called for reinforcements and a breakdown vehicle, which they used to pull down the gate.

One officer who took part in the raid said they knocked on the gate for about half an hour before Mr Artur Margaryan came to ask them what they wanted.

He demanded to be told if the officers had a warrant allowing them to search the premises. 

"He said he would not open the gate even if the Commissioner of Police had personally gone there. Then he told us to have a good night and returned to the house," said the officer.

It was at that point that the Gigiri police boss, Mr Lumumba, called for a powerful four-wheel-drive vehicle, similar to those used for emergency rescues. The officers tied a towing chain to the gate and drove the vehicle away, bringing it down. 

But the door of the house remained closed, even as police knocked on it for around 30 minutes and called for it to be opened.

Mr Margaryan appeared, having come from the rear of the house. Mr Lumumba repeatedly asked him to permit entry, but Mr Margaryan asked to be shown a search warrant.