Nineteen illegal aliens were arrested by the police in Mombasa County on Monday, March 9, in what is suspected to be a beggar smuggling syndicate.
According to Likoni DCIO, Richard Koywer, the 19 illegal immigrants were nabbed at the Bomas Guest House at the Harambee area of Likoni.
Among those arrested were 16 Tanzanians and 3 Congolese nationals with 13 being persons living with disability.
The DCIO stated that the group could possibly have been carried to the ferry area to beg on a daily basis to benefit the smugglers.
"They did not have the necessary documentation required to be in the country,” Koywer told Coast-based broadcaster Baraka FM.
The illegal immigrants aged between 19 and 40 years have been living in the hotel since December 2019. They are said to be paying a lodging fee of about sh.500-1000 a day.
This comes barely a week after devolution PS Nelson Marwa gave a warning that the state would be weeding out on cartels who are trafficking persons living with disabilities (PWD's) to use them as beggers for their own benefit.
Marwa added that the government was on the lookout and any individuals who are found culpable would be arrested and arraigned in court.
“There are abled people who drop people with disability at any various joints across the country for them the gain from that, let it be clear that the government will not allow this madness to continue,” Marwa explained.
The cartels take advantage of the relaxed immigration laws in the East African region to smuggle them in and use them for a daily target that is set by the cartels.
The police have since launched investigations to stem out cartels involved in trafficking disabled persons from neighboring countries of Tanzania, Uganda, DRC, Malawi and Burundi.
They are set to be arraigned in court to be charged with being in the country illegally.
