Kenyan detectives rescued two Indian nationals who had been kidnapped shortly after arriving at the country’s main international airport and arrested three Pakistani nationals suspected of holding them for ransom on Friday.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said an intelligence-based operation led officers to a house in Tumaini Estate in Nkoroi, Kajiado County, where the two Indians were being held. Nkoroi is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) south of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Detectives found the two victims restrained inside a bedroom at the house and freed them during the operation, according to police.
Three Pakistani nationals, identified by investigators as Shahzad Haroon, Tariq Muhammad Muneeb and Hassan Waqar, were arrested at the property.
$32,000 ransom
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects contacted relatives of the kidnapped men in India through the WhatsApp messaging platform and demanded $32,000 for their release, police said.
The two Indian nationals had been abducted shortly after arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya’s largest airport and a major regional aviation hub serving East Africa.
Investigators tracked a vehicle believed to have been used in the abduction, with intelligence gathered during the investigation eventually leading detectives to the property in Nkoroi.
Authorities have not disclosed the identities of the two victims or provided details about why they had traveled to Kenya.
Prior information
Police are investigating how the victims were targeted after their arrival in Nairobi, whether the suspects had prior information about their travel and whether other people participated in the kidnapping.
The three suspects remained in police custody as detectives continued investigations into the alleged abduction and ransom demand.
Kenyan authorities have increasingly focused on organized criminal networks involved in kidnapping, human trafficking and other cross-border crimes, with Nairobi serving as a major regional transport and commercial center connecting East Africa with Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world.
