KIAMBU,Kenya, July 12 – At least 104 Ethiopian immigrants were Monday rescued from the clutches of a suspected trafficking syndicate in Juja, Kiambu county in the latest incident of transnational crime plaguing the region.
Though the timelines on when they crossed the Kenyan border with Ethiopia in Moyale town is yet to be established, detectives say that the immigrants who are now considered victims of a trafficking ring were being held captive in a 3 bedroom rented home in Matangi-ini area.
As luck would have it, the 104 immigrants were rescued after several of them managed to break out of one of the rooms they were being detained and subsequently managed to jump over the premises’ perimeter wall.
“Some people were seen fleeing from this house we did not know who they were, initially however we were told people of unknown origin were hiding here but no one had ever seen them.” said one of the residents.
Upon their capture, local residents initially thought of them as mere buglers and decided to take them back to the house. It was at this point that they discovered tens of immigrants being held against their will and reported the matter to police.
According locals the immigrants are said to have been at the rented house for at least two weeks often deprived of water and food for days.
“When we came here, we tried to speak to them but they could not speak even English or Kiswahili and they seemed like they were suffering. They had no shoes and seemed hungry. it is however clear that some people are taking advantage of this developing area to commit crime.” said a another resident.
The immigrants consisted of 15 to 40 year old men.
Juja Sub county police commander Dorothy Migarusha told Shahidi News that detectives shortly after a tip off from residents pounced on the home and freed the immigrants that had been locked up in at least three rooms in the house.
“Immediately we received the phone call from residents we came here and found the immigrants. We understand that for several days, different vehicles have been coming in and out of this house but no one knew who the people were.” said Migarusha.
The immigrants are all believed to be of Ethiopian origin however detectives are yet fully identify them.
“We suspect this is a human trafficking syndicate, we have so far detained two people that were tasked with the responsibility of cooking for the immigrants and we expect them to tell us who is involved in this,” she said.
The case has since been handed over to the DCI headquarters and reassigned to the transnational crime unit.
On July 6,2021, traffic police along the Opiroi-Maralal road in Samburu apprehended 23 Eritrean immigrants en route to Nairobi.
Samburu Central Sub County police commandant Alex Rotich told Shahidi News the immigrants did not have travel documents nor permits to be in the country.
The driver of the vehicle they were in was arrested nd has since been arraigned.
It is however believed the 23 immigrants might have been victims of a trafficking ring.
In May 30, 38 women reportedly on the verge of being trafficked to the Middle Eastern nation of Saudi Arabia were rescued by police in Kamulu near the common border of Machakos and Nairobi county.
A woman believed to be their handler was arrested an denied allegations of human trafficking.
The women who were being held at a rental house in the area had initially told police that they underwent and completed a training as part of their new job description in the Middle East.
The women were apprehended aboard two buses contracted to ferry them to an unknown destination, with one of the women saying, “we were going to Saudia Arabia. at the time”
The women were drawn from at least 9 counties with 22 out of the 38 coming from Kilifi county.
The rest had travelled from: Mombasa,Taita Taveta, Kwale, Makueni, Nakuru, Nandi, Kisii, and Vihiga.
Detectives said that women from coastal Kenya were being targeted during the operation.
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