A Kenyan is among 4,500 people arrested in an Interpol operation across eastern and southern Africa. 

Information on the Interpol website shows 1,500 police officers were involved in the crackdown against transnational crimes. The swoop targeted human, drug and arms traffickers as well as terrorists and car thieves.

The report says the officers recovered 666 pieces of ivory worth US$2 million (Sh200 million) in Tanzania and arrested five men and a woman from Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The officers were deployed throughout 22 countries as part of Operation Usalama III to address a wide range of interlinked crimes across the region.

The operation was Led by the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) and the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) with support from Interpol.

The swoop carried out on June 29 and June 30 involved police and officers from customs, immigration, wildlife agencies, counter-terrorism units and mining authorities. Thousands of checks were conducted against Interpol's global databases during the 48-hour operation, resulting in the recovery of more than 30 stolen vehicles.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  You have let us down, UDA tells Sakaja over rot at City Hall
• 
  Luxury car importers in limbo after car theft syndicate bust

In addition to rescuing human trafficking victims in Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda, drugs, guns, ammunition and gold were also seized.