At least 40 Ethiopians were arrested while being transported on motorcycles in Merti, Isiolo County.
Police said the men were in the country illegally and claimed they were on transit to South Africa when they were nabbed.
The incident happened on Tuesday, December 5 evening at Biligo – Degogicha Junction along Merti Road.
There were gunshots at the scene as police approached the scene where the aliens were. Some of the aliens with their smugglers were on motorcycles while others were on foot.
After the shootout, the smugglers managed to escape with some of the aliens. Police said 40 others remained at the scene as they could not escape.
According to police, they had no valid documents for identification. They were charged in court for being in the country illegally pending repatriation to their country.
Read: 49 Ethiopians Arrested in Nairobi En Route to South Africa
This is the latest such incident to happen in the area. The group said they were running from problems in their country and headed to South Africa, seeking greener pastures.
Police said most of the aliens use the Moyale route as they head to South Africa and the Middle East, oblivious of the dangers ahead.
Tens of aliens are often arrested in various places in the country as they wait to be moved to their next destinations.
Police and immigration officials have deplored increased cases of Ethiopian aliens nabbed in the country while in transit.
Officials from the Transnational Organized Crime Unit are conducting joint operations to deal with human smuggling.
Tens of Ethiopians and now Eritreans are annually arrested in Kenya while in transit and later deported.
Most of those arrested come to Kenya to seek jobs or are in transit.
Read Also: Ten Ethiopians Arrested in Taveta While Headed for Tanzania
What is puzzling is how the immigrants manage to evade many police roadblocks mounted from the Moyale border, which they use to Nairobi.
There are more than 20 roadblocks on the stretch, which raises the seriousness of the security agents trying to end the practice.
As part of efforts to deal with the problem, an Ethiopian national was sentenced to 31 years in prison for trafficking 12 fellow Ethiopians immigrants in Nairobi.
Yibekal Gatachew, alias Adinan Mohamed Galano, was sentenced by a Kahawa West Law Court on September 7 last month following his arrest on November 3, 2021 in Ngumo estate, Nairobi.
During the arrest, the 12 Ethiopian nationals were found emaciated and chained in a room as they waited to be repatriated to a different country while headed for South Africa.
Gatachew was also sentenced to an additional year for acquiring a fake document.
This was after he was found with a fake alien identity card. The immigrants were later repatriated to Ethiopia.
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