Detectives in Mombasa on Wednesday arrested 177 suspects alleged to be part of a gang accused of systematically reigning terror in the region giving residents sleepless nights.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday night in a multi-agency operation led by Mombasa County Commissioner Mohammed Noor.
While confirming the arrests, Noor stated the government's efforts to intensify the operations which he noted would be carried out in various parts of the county including parts of Kisauni, Jomvu, Likoni and Mvita.
The county commissioner also directed the immediate halt in the distribution of relief food in the area as a way of taming the surging crime rates.
According to him, most of the suspects abuse relief food distribution to rob the public.
During the operation, a number of items were recovered including several knives and sacks of bhang.
“As of yesterday night, we had arrested about 177 suspects, 27 suspects of whom were arrested in the Kisauni area," the county commissioner stated.
"We also managed to recover bhang. The operation will continue until the county is safe,” Noor added.
The arrests come 2 days after CCTV footage captured several young men swindling a pedestrian outside a supermarket on Haile Selassie Avenue in Mombasa.
In the well-orchestrated move, a gang of about 20 young men was captured rushing towards a resident who was heading home after purchasing items at a nearby outlet.
Despite attempts by the public to save the man, the gang managed to rob him of all his items, a situation that raised fears among residents.
Following the tragic incident, police officers from the Coastal region immediately launched an operation to weed out the suspected gang members.
