Copyright 2002 Africa News Service, Inc.
Africa News
October 30, 2002 Wednesday
LENGTH: 340 words
HEADLINE: Kenya;
Home-Made Guns On Sale-Police
BYLINE: The East African Standard
BODY:
Police in Nairobi yesterday said criminals are now making guns locally.
Nairobi police boss Stephen Kimenchu also revealed they had shot dead 15 suspected gangsters , recovered 55 guns with 119 rounds of ammunition and arrested 27 suspects in possession of arms in the last two months.
He said two civilians were killed by criminals and one policeman was injured during the period. Kimenchu said of the 55 guns recovered, 17 were home-made and four could fire live ammunition.
He said the criminals were producing their own guns because they no longer had easy access to firearms coming into the country from outside.
Kimenchu said they had arrested two prime suspects in Kariobangi and Shauri Moyo, who are believed to behind the syndicate which has sold an unknown number of the home-made guns to criminals.
He said one of the suspects was a welder who crafted the guns using pipes and rods. He said although the guns were made locally, they were as lethal as the genuine products.
He said the home-made guns can only fire one bullet .
He noted that thugs took advantage of the cover of darkness when their victims cannot differentiate between a real gun and a fake one to perpetrate the crimes. He said the improvised guns can, however, only fire one bullet.
Displaying a Motorola radio receiver that is usually used by security companies and which was recovered from a suspect, Kimenchu said criminals were acquiring new technology and using trained technicians to bug police calls.
He said the police technical unit was working to provide a separate frequency which will be exclusive to police officers.
The assortment of weaponry was displayed during a news conference at the Nairobi provincial police headquarters, in a move geared towards restoring the public confidence in the force.
The police boss said crime had, however, dropped in the city this year.
The PPO was accompanied by all the Nairobi divisional police bosses and Provincial Criminal Investigations Officer(PCIO), Gabriel Mutunga.
Africa News
October 30, 2002 Wednesday
LENGTH: 340 words
HEADLINE: Kenya;
Home-Made Guns On Sale-Police
BYLINE: The East African Standard
BODY:
Police in Nairobi yesterday said criminals are now making guns locally.
Nairobi police boss Stephen Kimenchu also revealed they had shot dead 15 suspected gangsters , recovered 55 guns with 119 rounds of ammunition and arrested 27 suspects in possession of arms in the last two months.
He said two civilians were killed by criminals and one policeman was injured during the period. Kimenchu said of the 55 guns recovered, 17 were home-made and four could fire live ammunition.
He said the criminals were producing their own guns because they no longer had easy access to firearms coming into the country from outside.
Kimenchu said they had arrested two prime suspects in Kariobangi and Shauri Moyo, who are believed to behind the syndicate which has sold an unknown number of the home-made guns to criminals.
He said one of the suspects was a welder who crafted the guns using pipes and rods. He said although the guns were made locally, they were as lethal as the genuine products.
He said the home-made guns can only fire one bullet .
He noted that thugs took advantage of the cover of darkness when their victims cannot differentiate between a real gun and a fake one to perpetrate the crimes. He said the improvised guns can, however, only fire one bullet.
Displaying a Motorola radio receiver that is usually used by security companies and which was recovered from a suspect, Kimenchu said criminals were acquiring new technology and using trained technicians to bug police calls.
He said the police technical unit was working to provide a separate frequency which will be exclusive to police officers.
The assortment of weaponry was displayed during a news conference at the Nairobi provincial police headquarters, in a move geared towards restoring the public confidence in the force.
The police boss said crime had, however, dropped in the city this year.
The PPO was accompanied by all the Nairobi divisional police bosses and Provincial Criminal Investigations Officer(PCIO), Gabriel Mutunga.