Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin and Acting Inspector General of National Police Gilbert Masengeli visited Moyale, Marsabit County, on Thursday, August 15, following the abduction of two South Korean nationals.
According to the National Police Service (NPS), Amin and Masengeli held a critical security meeting in the area regarding the incident.
The DCI boss urged the police to coordinate their efforts in the search operation to ensure the safe rescue and return of the hostages.
On his part, the acting IG called for the multi-agency security teams to enhance their collaboration with the members of the public in addressing insecurity gaps in the area and appealed to the public to volunteer any information regarding the abduction to the police.
NPS disclosed that the incident happened on Monday night, August 12, at around 9.00 p.m. when two armed assailants stormed Odda Mission Secondary School, where the foreign nationals were residing.
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The assailants sped away with the victims on motorbikes while firing in the air. Eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that the suspects sped off towards Funanyatta along Marsabit-Moyale highway using motorbikes while firing. A search and rescue multi-agency team began immediate search and rescue mission, and eight suspects have been arrested, among them 6 Ethiopians," NPS stated.
NPS added, "The suspects were presented before Moyale Principal Magistrate's Court on August 13, 2024, via a miscellaneous application, and a 10-day custodial order was granted to complete the investigation."
The police recovered three cartridges from the scene and forwarded them to the DCI Forensic Lab for ballistic examination.