Police officers arrest two men at Likoni channel, Mombasa, on Monday. Bomb-making materials, two rifles, machetes and 150 bullets were found in the men’s vehicle.
| Kevin Odit | Nation Media groupMombasa
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Police conduct night raids in Mombasa, Kwale over terror plot
What you need to know:
- Kuze and Old Town residents say a contingent of armed officers arrived in several vehicles.
- Weapons seized believed to have come from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Police conducted night raids in Mombasa and Kwale as they investigate a botched terror plot that saw two suspects arrested on Monday.
This comes as it emerged that security has been heightened in the Coast region following the arrests of the two terror suspects at the Likoni channel crossing.
They seized a range of explosives and weapons in what is believed to have been a planned terror attack.
Multiple sources told the Nation that raids were being carried out in homes targeting terror supporters.
Special police units are also conducting further investigations targeting terror cells, recruiters and individuals believed to be facilitating young people to join terror groups.
“They are also looking for those that engage directly or indirectly with terror suspects,” said a senior police officer.
The targeted areas include parts of Kwale and Mlango wa Papa in Mombasa Old Town and Mvita in Mombasa County.
The Nation has learnt that on Monday night, hours after the two suspects were arrested, police were in a door-to-door search in Kuze, Old Town, where they broke metal doors, gaining access to homes.
Planned terror activities
It is understood that several persons of interest were whisked away by the officers.
Witnesses said a contingent of Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers came in several vehicles at around midnight. It is suspected that they had the names of specific people on their radar.
All these operations began after the arrest of Abdulhakim Salim Sagar, whom police have linked to planned terror activities in Mombasa.
Homes were also targeted in Kwale on Monday and Tuesday after intelligence reports indicated the two arrested suspects and two others who escaped were living in a sympathiser’s house in Lungalunga.
This also acted as a safe house for the weapons they had transported from the Democratic Republic of Congo through the Lungalunga border crossing.
Kwale County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri told the Nation that security agencies are on alert, with close monitoring of the Lungalunga crossing.
“Our officers are currently addressing this emerging security issue using a multi-agency approach,” he said.
Terror suspects arrested
He added that residents should always report unusual happenings and share the reports with relevant security organs starting from chiefs to police stations.
He also urged hotels to ensure that they capture the data of their guests as they check in so that they do not harbour criminals.
“This will help us stop any dangerous activities that can be evil to the country. It will also be easier for them to be intercepted,” he said.
On Monday, police arrested two terror suspects they allege had planned to attack a police station in Mombasa. This was a mission to retaliate and commemorate the death of Sheikh Aboud Rogo on August 27.
Rogo was known for radicalising young people in Mombasa and other parts of the Coast region.
The Nation has learnt that the two suspects, a Tanzanian and a Kenyan, are Al-Shabaab returnees with contacts across Mombasa and Kwale.
This has put security agencies in the Coast region on high alert even as intelligence reports showed that Cabo Delgado in Mozambique had become the new frontier for radicalized young men, some from Kenya’s Coast region.
