Police in Mombasa County were on Tuesday, January 3, allowed by the court to hold a terror suspect for fifteen days before charging him formally.
This is after the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officers requested the court to grant them more time to complete the ongoing investigations.
Criminal Division Court sitting in Mombasa granted the request, ordering the police to keep Musa Abdulnassir Kassim in protective custody.
Detectives in Mombasa county on Monday, January 2, arrested the 25-year-old man for being in possession of a pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition at the Likoni ferry crossing.
Confirming the incident, the National Police Service noted that officers drawn from the DCI while acting on an intelligence report arrested the suspect carrying the pistol from Diani to Mombasa Island.
"The suspect will be reproduced in court within fifteen days depending on the directions investigations will take, and as guided by the court," noted Dr Resila Onya, National Police Spokesperson.
In a police report, the suspect was arrested with a Glock pistol of serial number 187, which was loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Police noted that he tried to fool the officers by concealing the gun in a black backpack.
"The suspect could not produce a firearm certificate nor could he explain where he got the said firearm and ammunition from," part of the police report reads.
Likono police officers stated that they were pursuing more leads that could soon end up in more arrests.
"Once investigations are complete, he will be arraigned before Mombasa law courts for the offences of being in possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearms certificate," stated the police.
Law enforcement officers on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 thwarted a planned terror attack targeting a government project worth Ksh143 billion.
The attack was foiled following the arrest of a Kenyan national in Tana River County, who is believed to have provided information to the outlawed Al Shabaab terrorist group.
According to police, the suspect was the mastermind of the attack which had targetted Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project in the North Eastern Region, Tana River and Lamu Counties, which was estimated to cost Ksh143 billion.
