Tuesday May 2, 2023
The men were in a white Toyota Probox when they were stopped by police.
FILE PHOTO - CRIME SCENE - The Star
The four police reservists
who were on Sunday arrested while carrying four rifles, 19 magazines and 500 bullets were Monday released after grilling.
This is after they were found to be members of the National Police Reserve based at the Kenya-Somalia border in Wajir County.
They have been helping local police in detecting and fighting al-Shabaab militants who cross from Somalia for a mission.
Officials aware of the developments said the four were arrested Sunday, April 30 after they came to Garissa without notifying the local security teams.
They were arrested at Nuno, Garissa County.
Police also recovered balaclavas, a ballistic helmet, a knife, a machete and several mobile phones.
The men were in a white Toyota Probox when they were stopped by police.
This is after being mistaken to be criminals.
Officials said they want to know why they were moving to Garissa without informing the relevant authorities.
It is suspected they were facilitating the movement of contraband goods.
And after a multi-agency probe, a decision was made to release the but with a tough warning.
They were escorted back to their base. Other sources said the personnel has been helpful in taming terrorism and al-Shabaab terrorists in the area.
This comes amid heightened security following fears the terror group could be planning an attack after a long lull.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back.