NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 22 – Detectives have arrested 44 schoolchildren at Nairobi’s Mountain View Estate, in the ongoing crackdown on individuals taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to engage children in entertainment and partying activities.
The children aged between 14 and 17 years were arrested alongside their host, a 41-year-old woman identified by police as Millicent Kithinji.
Various brands of alcoholic drinks and bhang were recovered in the house.
“Already, officers have contacted some of their parents,” the Directorate of Criminal Invetigatigations (DCI) said in a statement.
The children told police they were from Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties.
The Saturday night arrest comes barely after detectives rescued 7 girls who had gone missing for days and are suspected to have been involved in pornographic related affairs.
“Investigations are ongoing to establish how the children sneaked out of their homes and traveled that far without raising suspicion from their parents,” Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said.
And he urged parents, “to take a keen interest in their childrens’ activities particularly on social media and people they interact with on phone.
Police have linked the disappearances to an online group known as Carty-gang-ent which is under investigation.
“While being interrogated by detectives attached to DCI’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, the young girls revealed how they were lured from their home and linked up in partying joints in Nairobi,” the DCI said.
The cartel, the DCI said, has been using internationally registered mobile telephone numbers, that operate from Nairobi.
The DCI said they will crack down on individuals taking advantage of the prevailing situation occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic that forced Kenya to close schools in March, rendering millions of school children idle at home.
The schools are now set to re-open in January 2021.
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