Garissa police arrest 3, seize weapons cache after 4-hour chase
The three people police found with a cache of weapons during a security operation in Lagdera, Garissa County, on March 29, 2021.
What you need to know:
- The regional police commander said the weapons are not from Kenya because they have not been registered in the country.
Police Garissa County have arrested three suspected criminals in a security operation that has seen them recover weapons including eight AK-47 rifles and 2,104 bullets.
A police report seen by Nation.Africa says officers in the company of Lagdera Deputy Sub-county Police Commander Adan Ibrahim Edin undertook the operation after suspecting criminal activity.
They flagged down a car along Baraki-Maalmin road but its occupants sped off, necessitating a search.
“The vehicle was spotted on the outskirts of Maalmin about 40km south of Lagdera police station. NPR officers Adow Yussuf and Khalif Abdullahi Muhumed, using their personal vehicle, gave a chase and managed to block the vehicle,” the report stated.
Some of the guns that police confiscated in a security operation in Lagdera, Garissa County, on March 29, 2021.
In the car were 30-year-old Nur Ibrahim Alaso, who was the driver, 21-year-old Jimale Abey Mahamud and 24-year-old Abdirizack Mohamed Ali.
They were arrested for questioning on why they were transporting items that also included eight empty AK-47 magazines and 20 litres of petrol, which were found in the boot of the car.
Anti-terrorism war
Rono Bunei, Northeastern Regional Police Commander, said the police chase took four hours.
Mr Bunei said police who were patrolling the area spotted the salon car at about 5pm on Monday before the driver sped off, prompting the chase.
"The three suspicious occupants sped off to the bushes when being stopped. The operation was mounted to trace and arrest the occupants of the vehicle," he said in Garissa.
Some of the items that police confiscated in a security operation in Lagdera, Garissa County, on March 29, 2021.
The security boss described the recovery a boost in the war on terrorism and noted that the weapons were to be used in an undisclosed terror mission in the country.
The regional police commander said the weapons are not from Kenya because they have not been registered in the country.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border and Dadaab hosts thousands of refugees, most of whom are from Somalia.
Some of the bullets that police confiscated in a security operation in Lagdera, Garissa County, on March 29, 2021.
Kenya has been on a heightened vigilance due to the threat of terror posed by the Al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab militants.
Al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region especially in Mandera and Garissa counties in the northeast region bordering Somalia after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.
