A Congolese national suspected of assisting rebel groups ISIL and ISIS in his country to smuggle gold to Dubai through Kenya is under investigations for offering support for commission of terrorism activities.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI’S) Anti-Terrorist Police Unit (ATPU) Nairobi branch offices is holding Emmanuel Mpila while investigating him for allegedly enabling the terror outfits to carry out illegal gold trade to finance their operations in Congo.
He was arrested at JKIA by immigration officials on January 15.
Mr. Jonathan Mwenda of Anti-Terror Police Unit told the Kahawa law courts in an affidavit that Mpila is under investigations for terrorism related offences which attract penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment upon conviction.
The crimes include membership to a terrorism group and provision of property for commission of terrorism act contrary to Prevention of Terrorism Activities Act (POTA).
Mr. Mpila is also investigated for aiding terrorism activities and money laundering, offering logistical support to terrorist groups by trade enabling them to carry out illegal trade to raise funds for their activities.
Mr. Mwenda says Mpila has been offering support to the terror groups to traffic gold to Dubai which enables the groups to use the proceeds of the illegal trade to purchase arms and hire recruitment agents.
Mwenda was urging the court to allow detention of the suspect for 21 days pending investigations.
The detective said Mpila is suspected to have been working in cahoots with accomplices at large and being pursued by the security personnel in Congo, Dubai and Kenya.
The magistrate said most of the investigations to be done do not require incarceration of the suspect and granted the orders sought partially, allowing detectives to hold the suspect for 10 days only.
