Police officers in Likoni, Mombasa County, have arrested three Ethiopian nationals for allegedly being in Kenya illegally.
Confirming the arrest, Likoni police boss Willy Simba, said the suspects were arrested at the Likoni channel while crossing to South Coast.
The three suspects were identified as Mr Tamasken Hussein, Mr Samuel Demise and Mr Takatai Petros.
Another suspect, a Kenyan identified as Mr Aden Abdirhman, who is suspected to be the kingpin behind smuggling the immigrants is also in police custody.
Mr Simba said the Kenyan man was in the company of the illegal immigrants at the time of the arrest and is suspected to be involved in a human trafficking syndicate.
Mr Simba said the foreigners who did not have legal documents from the immigration department were arrested at the screening machine following a tip-off from members of the public.
“The suspects will be charged in court with the offence of being in the country illegally once investigations are complete. The Kenyan will be charged with human trafficking and the Ethiopians will be charged with being in the country illegally,” said Mr Simba.
The police boss issued a stern warning against engaging in the business of smuggling people into the country, saying the culprits will be arrested and prosecuted according to the law.