70 illegal immigrants arrested over the weekend to be arraigned tomorrow

By Samuel Ouma

Seventy foreigners arrested by police for being in the country illegally will be arraigned in court tomorrow (Wednesday).

The immigrants were nabbed on Saturday night at Merti and Garbatulla areas in Isiolo County, Northern Kenya.

The officers who acted on a tip-off from the public also seized 12 boda-boda (motorcycle) riders purported to be accomplices in the human trafficking. One boda-boda rider escaped during the raid.

Isiolo County Commissioner Herman Shambi said the illegal immigrants are a burden to the economy and posed a health risk to residents in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. Shambi called on the Judiciary to pass harsh sentences to them.

“We incur a lot of expenses feeding them and repatriating them back to their country. They are also posing health threats to our people,” said Shambi.

He further urged the locals to volunteer information to police on visitors in their places of residence for immediate action.

At the same time, those abetting the crime were warned of dire consequences.

Human trafficking business is rampant with the US State Department had accusing Kenyan Government of not doing enough to combat human trafficking

On September 10, 2020, police the arrested 6 suspects who were caught trafficking 16 foreigners along the Marsabit-Isiolo highway.

Abdi Majid Hassan Abdirahman Hussein Abdi, Mohammed Ahmed, Jamal Ali, Somo Wario, Salad Huka, Abdullahi Mohammed and Abbas Yusuf were nabbed by a multi-agency team of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sleuths.