Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Operations Support Unit (OSU) have arrested six suspects and rescued three Indian nationals who went missing shortly after arriving in Kenya, in what investigators say is a suspected human trafficking case.
The three Indian nationals landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on August 5, 2026, but disappeared soon after clearing immigration, prompting intelligence-led investigations. Detectives eventually traced them to a two-bedroom house in the Fort Jesus area of Ruiru, Kiambu County, where they were allegedly being held incommunicado.
“Preliminary investigations established that after being cleared at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the trio left the airport in a taxi allegedly arranged by their receiver, who was waiting for them in Ruiru,” the DCI said.
Those arrested are Indian national Avtar Singh; Pakistani nationals Ali Khashif and Syed Shujaat Hussein; and Kenyan nationals Stephen Karomo and Damaris Katulu Daudi. During the operation, detectives also found a Kenyan minor allegedly working as a house help at the same premises, a discovery that has now been folded into the investigation.
Under preliminary questioning, the suspects claimed they were helping the three Indian nationals travel onward to Italy through Ethiopia, a claim detectives are now working to verify.
The DCI said it is working to establish the suspects’ full activities, identify any accomplices and determine whether they are linked to a broader human trafficking network. Investigators are also probing how the three Indian nationals came into contact with the people who received them at the airport and why they were taken to the Ruiru house.
“Investigations are ongoing to establish the activities of the six suspects, identify their accomplices and determine their possible links to a human trafficking network,” the DCI said.
The six suspects are being processed for arraignment as detectives continue gathering evidence. The agency has not disclosed the identities or current whereabouts of the three rescued Indian nationals.
The case adds to a string of recent DCI operations targeting trafficking and exploitation networks, including the rescue of dozens of women from suspected sexual exploitation rings in Nairobi and Kajiado counties in recent weeks, underscoring growing concern over the movement of foreign nationals through Kenya under arrangements that expose them to unlawful detention.
