G3 rifles. [iStockphoto]

Police have recovered three guns and bullets that were stolen when criminals broke into an armoury at Sikhendu Police Station in Kitale, Kiminini sub-county, last month.

Police have also arrested three suspects in ongoing investigations.

The people who stole the guns and the ammunition are said to be cattle rustlers.

The suspects are said to have been arrested for engaging in cattle theft. They later escaped from police cells, broke into the armoury and stole the guns and several rounds of ammunition.

Kiminini OCPD John Onditi lauded residents for volunteering information that led to the arrest of the suspects.

Gabriel Simiyu, who is said to be the mastermind of the attack on the police station, was arrested on Monday from his hideout in Kamukuywa.

Onditi termed Simiyu as a problematic person who is not in good books with his family, having threatened his sister.

The other two suspects were identified as Daniel Wanjala Sindani and Samuel Wafula Barasa.

Abandoned building

The OCPD said one of the guns was recovered at an abandoned building in Kamukuywa.

"We have not rested since the guns were stolen. We have been looking for these weapons day and night. We finally managed to recover all three guns and arrested the culprits," said Onditi.

The recovered guns are an AK47, an FN and a Liyai. Also recovered were G3 magazines.

Onditi pointed out that the FN and Liyai guns are old-model weapons that are not common today. The bandits stole G3 magazines that did not match the stolen guns, said the police boss.

He added that the FN gun was recovered in a sugarcane plantation in Webuye, and the AK47 rifle was also found in another sugarcane plantation in Kiminini stuffed in an empty sack covered with dry sugarcane stalks and leaves.

The wife of one of the suspects led police officers to the sugarcane plantation where the AK47 had been hidden.

Sikhendu MCA Andrew Kutitila hailed police officers for their swift action to recover the guns following the 12-day operation.