DCI revealed that detectives had intercepted the suspects in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County after mounting an operation informed by received intelligence.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday, September 6 announced the arrest of 11 suspects as it seeks to rein in human trafficking rings and curb illegal immigration in Kenya.
In a statement, DCI revealed that detectives had intercepted the suspects in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County after mounting an operation informed by received intelligence.
“As hawkshaws intensify the pursuit for undocumented foreign nationals sneaking into the country for unestablished businesses, 11 male suspects have been rounded up in Kitale in an intelligence-led operation conducted by the DCI Operation Support Unit (OSU),” stated DCI in part.
The investigative agency revealed that the 11 were headed to Nairobi’s Eastleigh area, having entered the country from Uganda.
The 11 suspects arrested in Kitale on September 6, 2024. /DCI
They included three Kenyan men and eight Somalia as well as Uganda nationals, chauffeured in a Toyota Hiace.
“After fruitless efforts to slide away from the police shadow closing in on them, the vehicle driver pulled over in surrender, hence the arrest and detention of the suspects at Tarakwa Police Station,” added the DCI.
The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) has since taken over interrogation of the suspects to establish their business in the country, giving chance to the possibility of the foreigners being victims of human trafficking.
This comes as security agencies seek to close loopholes whereby human trafficking and illegal immigration activities act as means of smuggling in terrorists who end up causing harm to Kenyan citizens, especially in populated areas.
It is particularly cases of human trafficking that draw more attention, given the security risks that such an activity can bring, with those leading the smuggling rings devising crafty ways to pass into the country’s gateways undetected…sometimes, through insiders.
One such case occurred on September 13, 2023, which prompted DCI to write to Qatar Airways, compelling its station manager to explain the circumstances in which airport staff were involved in smuggling human beings at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
In the letter seen by Viral Tea, the intelligence agency at the time revealed that several employees from various agencies were involved in the trade which involved smuggling people from one country to the other via the international airport.
“This office has noted with a lot of concern that people are being smuggled in and out of the country through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with the assistance of airport staff which include National Police Service personnel, Kenya Airport Authority personnel, airlines personnel, and Immigration personnel,” the commanding officer of the ATPU stated then.
The officer further noted that those smuggled were taken to various counties, with the DCI threatening to take legal action on any personnel that would have been found engaging in the heinous practice.
A Qatar Airways plane with World Cup livery at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. /FILE
