24 January 2013
KENYA police yesterday arrested a suspected al-shabaab financier and recovered Sh1.5 million from him in Kiunga area in Lamu East.

Lamu East deputy police boss Julius Melly said the suspect was arrested as he attempted to cross into Somalia through the Kenya Somalia border.

The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Abdi Nuno a Somalia national suspected to be bankrolling the terror group. "He was found in possession of hundreds of thousand shillings," said Melly. "He was trailed by detectives from Mombasa."

Melly said the suspect boarded a bus from Mombasa town on Sunday night and arrived at Mokowe in Lamu on Monday before heading to Kiunga.

"He was to connect with another bus from Lamu to Kiunga, but he opted to hire a taxi after he realised he was being trailed," said the police boss. "We laid an ambush and arrested him once he arrived in Kiunga."

Police suspect the man is also engaged in poaching activities to fund al-shabaab activities like hiring and recruiting Islamic fighters. Sources within National Intelligence Service show that the terror group's funding has been cut-off since the entry and recapture of the port city of Kisimayu by Kenya Defence Forces.

The sources said the militia group has been crossing over into the Kenyan border and killing elephants. It is believed the militia group is now engaged in poaching.

Kismayu port was the entry point for the foreign fighters in al-Shabaab's ranks and a source for the ninety per cent of its revenues. Kenya Wildlife Service Coast boss Simon Gitau said KWS has dispatched a team of officers to Lamu to also interrogate the suspect.

"It is too early to conclude the suspect is a poacher, since no ivory was recovered from him, but once we grill him, we will let you know," said Gitau.

The suspect was handed over to a team of Anti-Terrorism Police officers and will appear in court in Lamu. He will later on be transferred to Mombasa town for further interrogation.

"We believe he is not operating alone in the illicit trade," said Melly. He said the suspect could not communicate in English or Kiswahili and he was carrying a large sum of cash in a handbag.

Reliable information within the police revealed that al-Shabaab, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employees last week Thursday seized 638 pieces of ivory valued at Sh100 million at the port of Mombasa.

The consignment was staffed in a 20-feet container and was destined to China aboard vessel MV LalaBahadur. The ivory was destined for China and the consignment was intercepted just before it was loaded into the vessel.