Two junior police officers were Saturday arrested after their vehicle was intercepted at a roadblock while ferrying 13 illegal immigrants in Lokichar, Turkana County.
The vehicle was carrying eight Ethiopians, four Eritreans and a Sudanese man, police said.
At the time of the incident, the driver and his colleague were armed with an AK47 rifle officially issued to them at the time of the arrest.
All the aliens were also detained ahead of arraignment and possible repatriation, police said.
They said they had crossed from Ethiopia to Kenya in Turkana and were promised to be ferried to Kitale for onward transfer to Nairobi, Tanzania and South Africa.
Most of the aliens are fleeing trouble in their country which includes fighting.
Read: 30 More Ethiopians Arrested in Eastleigh for Being in Country Illegally
The officers were disarmed of their rifle loaded with three magazines with 100 bullets and detained in custody.
This is the latest case where aliens from the countries are being detained in Kenya while on transit.
According to police, most of the aliens use the Moyale route and try their luck as they head to South Africa and Middle East oblivious of the dangers ahead.
Tens of the aliens are usually arrested in various places in the country as they wait to be moved to their next destinations.
Police and immigration officials have decried increased cases of Ethiopian aliens nabbed in the country while on transit.
Officials from the Transnational Organized Crime are conducting joint operations to deal with the issue of human smuggling.
Read Also: Puzzle of 26 Ethiopians Arrested in Muranga for Being in the Country Illegally
Tens of Ethiopians are annually arrested in Kenya while on transit and later deported.
Most of those arrested come to Kenya to seek jobs or are on transit.
As part of efforts to deal with the menace, 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, 2023 following his arrest on November 3, 2021 in Ngumo estate, Nairobi.
During the arrest, 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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