Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere (left in uniform) with his top officials at the garage where more than 31,000 bullets were found on Monday. The garage is owned by a Narok businessman. The public, angry at the discovery, threw stones at cars carrying the officers and the suspect. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By NATION TeamPosted Monday, February 1 2010 at 22:00
Police on Monday found thousands of bullets in a garage in Narok.
The 31,211 rounds of ammunition were in the same compound as an earlier сто,000 bullets recovered last December.
Local businessman Munir Ishmael has been arraigned in a Nairobi court in connection with the ammunition.
They were kept in two containers branded in the logo and colours of a local milk factory. A search at another business premises in the town was, however, unfruitful as no arms were found in the four containers which had been suspected to have them.
Last December, six guns and сто,000 rounds of ammunition were found at a petrol station.
Police surrounded the two premises in the morning awaiting court orders in Nairobi to search the properties.
On Monday, the court released Mr Ishmael to accompany officers to the scene after the prosecution said the accused needed to be present during the verification of the ammunition.
The new cache is said to have been discovered on Sunday evening during a major police operation in Narok.
The prosecution, headed by State lawyer Vincent Wahoro, had asked the court to allow the accused to travel to Narok where the seized cache was to be verified.
The application was made in the Chief Magistrate’s private chambers with the prosecution citing public interest and national security.
Mr Ishmael’s lawyers did not object, saying they only wanted the security of their client guaranteed.
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta said: “If our client is required to be at the scene during the verification then his security should also be guaranteed.”
The lawyers were allowed to accompany the accused to the scene.
