Police seize lorry carrying 32 Somalis

Some of the 32 Somali nationals who were arrested by police after the lorry they were travelling in was intercepted following a chase in Kitui appear in court on June 19, 2015. PHOTO | BENEDICT MUTUKU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The foreigners had been hidden in a second compartment.
• The lorry was stopped following a chase.

By KITAVI MUTUA
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Police in Mwingi have intercepted a lorry ferrying 32 Somali nationals to Nairobi in a suspected human trafficking syndicate.

The arrest of the foreigners — the biggest to have been made in Kitui County so far — happened after a dramatic police chase when the driver fled after defying orders to have his vehicle searched.

The foreigners had been carefully hidden in a compartment to dodge numerous police inspections along the Garissa-Nairobi road.

One compartment with a door on the left side of the lorry had been parked with gas cylinders while the foreigners were hidden in the second compartment with a door at the back.

According to Mwingi OCPD Gerald Barasa, detectives manning the roadblock in Mwingi Town flagged down the lorry travelling from Garissa on Thursday evening but the driver fled prompting a chase.

“His loader opened the left side door for inspection, but when asked to open the back door, he pretended to (go) pick (up) the keys from the driver as the officers waited.

"However, in the confusion of giving way to other vehicles, they slipped away from the dragnet and sped off towards Thika,” Mr Barasa said.

The police boss commended the officers for their swift action that finally saw the lorry intercepted at another police roadblock near Nguutani Market.

“Unfortunately, there was no standby police vehicle at the barrier and the officers had to request a motorist for his private car to pursue the fleeing lorry after their orders were ignored,” he said.

BIGGEST NUMBER

Mr Barasa said they alerted their colleagues at the subsequent roadblocks who laid an ambush and promptly impounded the lorry. On inspecting the second compartment, police found 20 men and 12 women inside.

The 32 Somalis, the lorry driver and his two loaders were arrested and taken back to Mwingi Police Station as investigations into possible human trafficking were launched.

Many Somali nationals, including suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists, have been arrested at the Mwingi roadblock trying to access the capital city but this is the largest number to have been nabbed in one operation so far.

“This incident shows how desperate and determined these people are to reach Nairobi and we have been aware that they are avoiding public buses because we thoroughly check all passengers,” Mr Barasa said.

The OCPD confirmed that they took the 35 suspects to court to obtain permission to hold them beyond the 24 hours stipulated by law to enable them to conclude investigations.

“The court has allowed us (to) hold the suspects until Monday and the county security committee will screen and interrogate them over the weekend to establish the extent of the syndicate,” he said.