{A criminal ring has been issuing firearm licences to civilians outside the official government security system.
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Unscrupulous officers, who infiltrated the police firearms registry are helping people buy guns and ammunition.
Sources said civilian gun licence holders who fell victim to the syndicate were shocked when they presented their licences for annual renewal only to have their firearms and certificates confiscated.
The source who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told the Nation that gun holders had been renewing their licences every year without problems until the syndicate was unearthed late last year.
A foreign investor and his Kenyan wife are now under investigations for possessing illegal guns.
Mr Andrew Laird White and his wife, Joy Akoth Mboya, are under scrutiny at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations after they were found with unregistered guns.
Yet, they had walked to the Central Firearms Bureau, Nairobi headquarters, to renew their licences but their weapons, Taurus pistols serial number THU02119 and THY88863, were confiscated.
They had certificates number 9718 and 9716 but they were informed that they belonged to a Mr G. Nyamaku and M. Talaal, respectively.
They presented their documents for renewal on November, 10, last year. The licences were due to expire on November 25.
SURRENDER YOUR GUN
Chief licensing officer Samuel Kimaru established that they did not exist at the registry.
“It was further noted that the registered owner of the serial numbers 9716 and 9718 were for Mr G. Nyamaku and Mr M. Talaal who had actually registered the firearms two months before the accused persons registered for the same,” a letter to Directorate of Criminal Investigations by the Director of Public Prosecutions says.
When the discovery was made, Mr Kimaru ordered that the firearms be confiscated.
The two were taken to the County Criminal Investigations Officer who in turn gave orders that they be charged with illegal possession of firearms.
The certificates are now being analysed by the Government Printers who revealed that the book was not genuine and the receipts for the renewal were fake.
Mr White was previously in the news after he alleged that former assistant minister Betty Tett had hired a hit man to kill him. Mrs Tett was later cleared of the charges.
On Thursday, Mr Kimaru added: “We want to warn anybody with such a certificate to surrender them. There are quacks (sic) out there pretending to be licensing and we are cracking down on them. Having a semi-automatic weapon will land you up to 10 years. A full automatic has up to 15 year sentence.”
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