Detectives in the coast region have foiled a major terrorist attack following the arrest of three suspected Al-Shabaab militants who allegedly planned to carry out attacks across the region during the Easter holidays.
Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) in Kisauni Barsheba, Mombasa County arrested three Somalia nationals namely Osman Mohammed Hasssan, Mohamed Ibrahim Hassan, and Hussein Ibrahim Hassan following intelligence reports.
The trio, among other Al-Shaabab operatives who are still at large, had been reportedly dispatched from Somalia to carry out terror attacks.
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The suspects, who appeared before Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet under a miscellaneous application seeking to have them detained for 14 days, were in constant communication with seven other suspected Al-Shaabab operatives in the country.
In his sworn affidavit, Anti-Terror Police officer Jackson Katana informed the court that the second respondent Mohamed had managed to sneak into the country for unknown mission, and allegedly tried to acquire Kenyan registration.
During his stay in Mombasa, the officer narrated, he was in communication with terror suspects at Dadaab and IFO refugee camps in Garissa County.
The investigating officer revealed to the court that following the arrest of the suspects on April 13 and their incarnation in various police stations within Mombasa, the second suspect attempted to smuggle a cell phone into Makupa police cells to facilitate and issue orders to his accomplices who are still at large.
“The respondents' cell phones gadgets have been forwarded to ATPU headquarters in Nairobi for extraction and analysis and the investigation team is yet to receive call data records and other relevant communication from the service provider,” Katana said.
Katana further disclosed to the court that he was investigating a case in which the three suspects were believed to be members of a terrorist group and that the suspects were in possession of articles connected with the commission of terrorist acts.
“I am following intelligence reports to make more arrests of other Alshabab militants who are within and outside Mombasa.
"There are parallel investigations going on in Nairobi in relation to their arrest and if the respondents are set free at this juncture, it would hinder investigations which are at an advanced stage,” he informed the court.
Adet allowed the application to have the suspects detained for 14 days to enable police complete investigations.
The matter will be mentioned on May 5.
