Xinhua
Saturday, November 16, 2013
GARISSA (Xinhua) -- Police in northern Kenya are questioning one of the most notorious firearms smugglers in the country after arresting him on Sunday.
“This is one man we have been tracking for almost a year now. He has been operating between Dobley in Somalia and the refugee camps in Dadaab with the sole purpose of selling firearms to his fellow refugees and other Kenyans,” Garissa County Criminal Investigation Department (CID) commander Musa Yego told Xinhua on Monday.
He said the suspect, Abdi Hared Digaale, had arrived from Dobley, Somalia, and was arrested at a Madhahaigesey, 20 km from Dadaab town.
Upon search, police found an AK 47 rifle, four magazines and 128 rounds of ammunition in the man’s luggage. The man will be arraigned in court when investigations are over, Yego said.
He called the man’s arrest a big breakthrough in the fight against insecurity and terror in the region.
Police have recently enhanced security in Dadaab, which hosts hundreds of refugees from Somalia.
Kenya has been on the verge of terrorism threats by Islamists extremists allied to Al-Shaabab and Al-Qaida militia after Kenya forces took control of the insurgents’ stronghold in Somalia.
The recent terror at Westgate mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi that left over 70 civilians dead and dozens wounded were blamed on the militants from neighboring Somalia.
The Kenyan government has said security has been put on high alert to combat further terror acts across the country.
Source: Xinhua