A murder suspect was among those arrested by police officers during a crackdown on a notorious knife-wielding criminal gang in Kwale.
In a statement released on Saturday, August 2, officers from the National Police Service (NPS) revealed that the suspect was one of four individuals apprehended during an operation in the Ngeneni area, within Lunga Lunga Township.
The operation, conducted following a tip-off from members of the public, targeted a notorious gang that had been terrorising residents.
"On 1 August 2025, police officers from Lunga Lunga Police Station acted on a credible tip-off regarding the presence of a notorious criminal gang in the Ngeneni area, within Lunga Lunga Township," stated the police.
"One of the individuals, believed to be a key gang member, is wanted on an active arrest warrant for murder and had reportedly been spotted in the company of his accomplices in the area," the NPS added.
The gang members were arrested during a raid on a single-room residence, where police also recovered five machetes, a black Tanzanian-registered motorcycle, suspected to have been used in their criminal activities, and narcotics.
After their arrest, they were placed in police custody, pending arraignment. Their apprehension follows a recent spate of violence meted out by the gang, believed to be members of the dreaded ‘Panga Boys’ group.
In April, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced the arrest of 51 more suspects linked to the notorious Panga Boys gang operating in the Kwale and Mombasa counties.
The 51 were arrested during the ongoing crackdown being carried out in the coastal region after public uproar from business owners, politicians, and human rights organisations on the concerning rise in criminal gangs.
Arrests were made in the neighbourhoods of Corner Ya Kisauni, Jocham Hospital, Barisheba, Sunlight, Mwandoni, Junda, Cobra, and Kadongo Grounds in Kisauni Subcounty.
During the operation, five tuk-tuks suspected to have been used in phone snatching incidents were also confiscated.
The arrests came after the DCI reported that 120 members of the notorious gang had been apprehended in Diani, Kwale County, following a week-long operation.
