MOMBASA, Kenya, (Xinhua) — Twenty-six suspected Ethiopian refugees were arrested in Kenya’s coastal town of Mariakani on last Thursday, police said.
The refugees, who had hidden in a container on a truck, were arrested by police in Mariakani after they were dropped by the driver, Kaloleni district police chief Betty Gachago confirmed Friday.
They are said to be aliens with Somali-Ethiopian origin and were to be taken to Mombasa for an unknown mission.
Gachago said the suspects, mostly male adults or youths, were dropped from the container after it became apparent to the driver that they would not succeed in passing Mariakani.
This was attributed to heavy police presence at the road blocks leading to Mombasa. Kenyan authorities recently launched a campaign against illegal aliens, trying to search members and sympathizers of Al-Shabaab, which was blamed for a series of grenade attacks in Kenya.
An witness said, those aliens, who could not speak Kiswahili or English, were found by local villagers. The villagers suspected them to be Al-Shabaab militants, and informed the authorities immediately.
Gachago also confirmed that the suspects were charged with entering the country illegally, and they all pleaded guilty.