Escaping gang drops pistol with 12 bullets in Jericho estate, Nairobi

A police officer holds ceska pistol. [Photo: Courtesy]

A gang that was being pursued by police dropped a pistol loaded with 12 bullets before vanishing into darkness in Jericho Estate, Nairobi.

The gang of four was being pursued by police who had been tipped off when they dropped the Ceska pistol on Sunday.

Police said they had been informed that the gang was harassing motorists and pedestrians prompting them to respond.

On reaching the site, they found the gang members in action. Police say they escaped dropped the weapon to divert the attention of the officers.

No arrest has been made but efforts to trace them are ongoing, Nairobi police boss Philip Ndolo said.

"We hope to know more on the crimes this weapon has committed and those behind it," he said as he indicated it had been sent for ballistic tests and analysis.

The officers also want to know the owner of the pistol.

Meanwhile, a pistol that was reported missing recently was found in a supermarket. The weapon belonged to a police officer attached to Machakos County Woman Representative Joyce Kamene. The officer was on Wednesday evening arrested for losing her loaded firearm.

The female bodyguard reported the incident at the Central Police Station, Nairobi, saying she lost the weapon while on duty along Muindi Mbingu Street within the Central Business District (CBD).

She told the police she realised that the gun was missing at around 4 pm when she reported. The pistol had six bullets at the time of the said incident.

 She was held pending investigations into the matter. As his seniors prepared to charge her, they received a report indicating the weapon had been found in a supermarket along Kenyatta Avenue.

The pistol with all the six bullets was wrapped in a paper at the time it was found on Friday morning.

Police said they are investigating how the weapon ended up there with an intention of taking action on those responsible.

Such weapons are usually used to commit crimes in the country. Police say there are tens of illegal weapons in the hands of criminals that are responsible for crime incidents in the city.