Police arrested 104 individuals of Ethiopian descent in a 3-bedroomed house in Thome Estate, Juja Sub-county, Kiambu.

Apparently, the foreign nationals had been locked up in that house for about a fortnight before the police raid discovered them.

According to the Juja Sub-county police commander Dorothy Migarusha, concerned members of the public alerted the police after 6 of the foreign nationals tried to escape from the house.

The residents rounded up the escapees on suspicion of being thieves and returned them to the premises, and that is when they discovered that there were other people locked up in that house.

Residents of the estate had suspected some illicit business going on in that premise conducted by foreigners.

They also reported the movement of vehicles in and out of the premises in the wee hours of the night.

“Our officers were acting on information disclosed by some residents who suspected there were illegal businesses going on in the house perpetrated by some foreigners. They said they would see vehicles move in and out of the compound at night. We raided the house and found the foreigners locked in there,” said Migarusha.

It is highly suspected that the foreign nationals aged between 15 and 40 could be victims of some human trafficking racket, as they did not have any identification documents.

The area police commander thanked the residents for cooperating with the authorities and urged them to continue being alert.

“We are grateful that our people relayed the crucial information to us and we urge them not to be afraid because such information is treated as confidential and no one can victimize the informants,” Migarusha added.

Kenya has a big number of undocumented foreign nationals from all over Africa. They get in through the porous border points and find their way into the cities.

They come from as far as Congo and Nigeria in search of greener pasture.

However, most of them engage in criminal activities within the country.