Kenyan police arrest 3, seize cache of weapons in border region

Kenyan police said Tuesday they have arrested three suspects and recovered a cache of weapons during a security operation in Garissa County which borders Somalia.

Rono Bunei, northeastern regional police commander, said the three suspects were nabbed while transporting eight rifles, 2,104 bullets, and 20 liters of petrol along a busy road in the Lagdera area when they were intercepted after a four-hour chase.

Bunei said the police who were patrolling the area spotted the salon car at about 5 p.m. on Monday before the driver sped off prompting a chase which took four hours to end.

"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," Bunei said in Garissa.

The security described the recovery as 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 weapons are not Kenyan 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.

Kenya has been on a heightened vigilance due to the threat of terror posed by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants.

Al-Shabab 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.