Police in Kitui County have apprehended two suspects and recovered 30 rounds of ammunition from a public service vehicle. The vehicle was stopped at a security roadblock along the Nairobi-Garissa highway.
The arrests took place on Tuesday at a busy highway checkpoint in Kanyoyo, where police officers were conducting routine security inspections.
While conducting a search on the passenger bus, the officers found live ammunition concealed beneath one of the seats in the bus. According to the police, the cartridges were inside a backpack that had been left behind after the passengers stepped outside the bus for the security check. When questioned, no one claimed ownership of the bag.
The two men were subsequently arrested and taken into custody at the Kanyonyo Police Station, where they were booked and are now waiting to be presented before the court. Meanwhile, the bus was towed to the station, and the recovered ammunition placed in secured custody, to be used as exhibit.
The police claim that the ammunitions might be part of those being smuggled from the northern part of the country to Nairobi and elsewhere to commit crimes.
Michael Muchiri, the National Police Service spokesman, noted that the police remain committed to ensuring that the illegal possession and movement of firearms and ammunition is curbed and also to enhance public safety through sustained security operations.
He also said that the roadblocks on major roads in the country have made it easier for the police to address various crimes.
“They have stopped the smuggling of humans, firearms and other dangerous items. We continue with operations,” Muchiri said.
In a separate incident in Kericho county, police officers are investigating an incident where a woman was found dead in a lodging in Brooke Trading Centre, in the outskirts of the town.
Based on the reports by the residents and business operators in the area, the woman’s body was discovered by lodge attendants on Tuesday morning. The attendants reported that the body was found on a bed in one of the rooms and had sustained stab wounds.
According to the witnesses, three men had checked into the lodge with the deceased on Monday night but whatever happened thereafter remains to be a mystery.
The police have arrested one of the men believed to have been among those who checked in, while two others are said to have fled.
Police officers have launched a manhunt, for the remaining two suspects, while two lodge caretakers who reportedly booked the group into the premises were taken for questioning.
