He surrendered to police at Kilimani police station after his armoury-cum-office was found with 22 assorted guns and more than 500 bullets.
Ken Wycliff Okello Lugwili, the proprietor of Vic Technologies Limited, had for a long time failed to pay his monthly rent, prompting the landlord, Ballon Wanjala Nangalama, to seek a court order allowing him to break into the premises.
Lugwili, alias General DeFao, is a licensed arms dealer through Vic Technology Systems Ltd.
He had been selling weapons to licensed gun holders.
Detectives from the DCI Anti-Terrorism Police Unit had launched a manhunt for the suspect in whose house had the armoury, stocked with firearms in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
Accompanied by Kilimani-based police officers, Hebros auctioneers gained entry into the premises, ready to issue a notification of sale of any worthy items in a bid to recover rent arrears amounting to Sh4,962,990.
Once inside, a quick search revealed an armoury, stocked with an assortment of weapons and hundreds of ammunition.
Detectives said they have since established that the suspect was a licensed firearm dealer but his licence was suspended more than three years ago.
“He is here with us and we are talking to him,” Kilimani head of DCI Stephen Tanki said.
He was later handed over to ATPU personnel for questioning.
Lugwili had earlier said he did not know his permit had expired. He said he will cooperate with police.
“I am a licensed gun dealer but I didn’t realise the licence had expired,” he said. He said the business is his.
Officers handling the case said his licence to handle and sell the weapons expired in 2018.
The ATPU took over the case following the discovery of the weapons.
They included nine escort magnum shotguns, one Benelli shotgun, five Guatro shotguns, one savage shotgun, six Walter pistols, and 565 bullets of assorted calibers.
Police said they also found 25 pistol holsters, dozens of magazine carriers, 30 slings, 10 sniper torches and a certificate of registration as a firearm dealer.
The team also found a firearm movement register and assorted firearm manuals.
The team revisited the scene on Wednesday as part of investigations into the recovery and aid the auctioneer to recover money.
Licensed firearms dealers are supposed to undergo mandatory vetting annually to ensure they are compliant.
For one to be allowed to be a gun dealer, he or she has to provide a number of documents and have his armoury inspected on a regular basis.
They include bank statements, a certificate of good conduct and a well-kept armoury.
Firearm dealers rely on the frequency of licensing or variations by the regulator to make sales.
They sell the weapons to individuals and institutions that have been vetted and given permits to hold firearms.
Interior CS Fred Matiang’i had in December 2018 announced the vetting of civilian firearms holders and dealers following increased cases of fake certificates in circulation.
The vetting process involves psychiatric assessment by a government psychologist, criminal record checks and ballistics testing of weapons and ammunition by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The vetting was meant to address procedural improprieties in the issuance and licensing of firearms.
Lugwili is not new to controversies.
He has in the past been linked to, among others, the death of former University of Nairobi student Mercy Keino in 2011.
He told police he was driving his Mercedes Benz on Waiyaki Way when he stumbled on the body that night.
In 2019, he was linked to a land fraud case in a land belonging to Erwin Stillhard and Summinder Sonia Stillhard.
He was in May 2019 arrested with nine suspects, among them seven foreigners, with fake $190 million in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
In police statements he recorded after he was arrested over the fake currency, he claimed to be a businessman who deals in used cars and also owned a security company.
His first major collision with the authorities was 19 years ago when was he sentenced to nine years on September 9, 2003, for defrauding various businessmen while impersonating Alfred Gitonga, who was then an aide to former President Mwai Kibaki.
His sentence, however, translated to three years as the sentences were to run concurrently.
A month later, he was sentenced to two years in prison for trying to defraud former Kenya Pipeline managing director Ezekiel Komen of Sh20,000.
Edited by A.N
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