Fake firearm licences cartel exposed in Nairobi
A criminal ring has been issuing firearm licences to civilians outside the official government security system.
Unscrupulous officers, who infiltrated the police firearms registry are helping people buy guns and ammunition.
Sources said civilian gun licence holders who fell victim to the syndicate were shocked when they presented their licences for annual renewal only to have their firearms and certificates confiscated.
The source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told the Nation that gun holders had been renewing their licences every year without problems until the syndicate was unearthed late last year.
A foreign investor and his Kenyan wife are now under investigations for possessing illegal guns.
Mr Andrew Laird White and his wife, Joy Akoth Mboya, are under scrutiny at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations after they were found with unregistered guns.
Yet, they had walked to the Central Firearms Bureau Nairobi headquarters to renew their licences but their weapons, Taurus pistols serial number THU02119 and THY88863, were confiscated.
They had certificates number 9718 and 9716 but they were informed that they belonged to a Mr G. Nyamaku and M. Talaal, respectively.