Police arrested two suspects and recovered explosives along the Kanyonyo-Embu Highway in Kitui County yesterday morning.

The multi-agency security team conducting routine patrols along the highway intercepted a passenger bus belonging to Tahmeed Coach headed to Meru from Mombasa.

After a thorough search, they found ten watergel explosives, a red explosive code, and two while cables, each terminated by with metallic ends believed to be used as detonators.

The driver of the bus, Lawrence Kioko Mutuku and his conductor Said Rashid Amour were arrested and the vehicle detained at Kanyonyo police station.

“The explosives were hidden inside a medium-sized carton labelled LATO Milk that was concealed within the bus’ luggage consignment,” police said.

Elsewhere, detectives are investigating an incident where two suspects were arrested while in possession of two rifles in a village in Makueni County.

Weapons cache

A team of police that was on an operation to arrest two suspects wanted for an assault case that had been reported on April 11 stumbled on the weapons on May 3.

One of the suspects was found with an AK47 rifle with 25 rounds of ammunition, two magazines and a military water camel and a sword while a second suspect was found with a G3 rifle along with 20 rounds of ammunition, two G3 magazines, an empty AK-47 magazine, a police magazine pouch, and a sword.

Police said they are investigating the motive for the weapons.

The two were expected in court for further processing. Police want to establish the source and motive of the weapons.

The team handling the matter also wants to establish if the weapons had been used to commit a crime in the area or any part of the country.

Last week, police also recovered two AK47 rifles linked to the murder of two National Police Service reservists in Igembe, Meru County on April 7.

Empty magazines

A joint operation led by the detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and officers from Kipsing General Service Unit (GSU) recovered the rifles, with empty magazines, at Lemorijo village, Lengurma in Isiolo North Sub-county.

On April 7, three reservists were shot dead by armed raiders at Mea in Igembe North and detectives launched investigations into the attack that led to the recovery of the rifles believed to have been used during the attack.

The attackers also stole 87 cattle, 22 goats and seven donkeys and several other reservists were also injured, according to Meru County Commissioner Jacob Ouma

“This breakthrough was made possible through collaboration between our elite teams, members of the public, the local administration and DCI Igembe North who has taken over investigations as the case remains under probe,” the DCI said.

Detectives including officers from the Crime Scene Investigations have also launched an operation to arrest the gang behind the shooting.

In the last one year, herders from Meru have been attacked by bandits and have called on the government to flush out these bandits.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said a joint security operation involving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) would be set to deal with the bandits operating in Meru, Isiolo, Laikipia North and Samburu East.

“We will set up an operation base in Kirimon Laikipia to resolve the problem in Mukogodo forest where the bandits have been hiding. The KDF will lead the operation,” Murkomen said recently.