Major arms haul intercepted as police ramp up border checks

Four Security Officers Arrested in Major Arms-Syndicate Crackdown
In a significant development for Kenya’s law-enforcement integrity, four officers from various security agencies were arrested this past weekend in a sting targeting a suspected illegal arms and ammunition trade. The arrests — carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’s (DCI) Operations Support Unit (OSU) — followed several days of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Among those arrested were: an Assistant Superintendent of Prisons based in Turkana, a Corporal attached to Turkana County Police Headquarters, an armorer at the Central Firearms Stores in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, and a store-man constable also based at the gun-depot in Industrial Area.
The background to the arrests reveals a deeply troubling nexus of insiders facilitating weapons flow to criminal networks. In one of the operations, the corpor al officer was apprehended receiving a consignment of 1,000 rounds of ammunition from two colleagues — reportedly destined for the prison officer.
Investigators also found one suspect in possession of 19 firearm magazines, multiple firing pins, cleaning kits and spent 9 mm cartridges; another was found with a Remington Rand Model 1911 pistol ad firearm parts.
The operation has exposed vulnerabilities in Kenya’s arms supply chain and the alarming role of state insiders in fuelling insecurity. Independent reports estimate Kenya hosts over 650,000 illicit firearms, often linked to cattle-raiding, banditry and cross-border smuggling.
Reactions from the public and officials have been swift. The National Police Service (NPS) issued a strong statement vowing that anyone who betrays public trust by fuelling violence through the illegal arms trade will be prosecuted regardless of uniform.
Civil-society groups and security analysts welcomed the arrests but stressed this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Many fear the network is broader and deeply entrenched within security agencies. The incident has reignited calls for stronger internal accountability, better inventory controls and systematic audits of firearms stores.
Looking ahead, the case may become a turning point for Kenya’s security sector reforms. The four suspects were to be arraigned in court on Monday, 29 September 2025.
Authorities say further investigations are ongoing and promise to trace the full supply chain and criminal links. If effectively pursued, this could bolster confidence in Kenya’s rule of law and aid the fight against the spread of illegal weapons. However, unanswered questions remain about how deep the complicity runs, and whether the state’s arms-management systems can be overhauled in time to prevent further infiltration.