Three men were Monday evening arrested and a cache of weapons recovered from them in a police operation in Lagdera, Garissa county.
The three were transporting eight AK-47 rifles, 2,104 bullets and 20 litres of petrol along Baraki- Maalmin Road in Lagdera area when they were intercepted after a four-hour chase.
There were also eight empty magazines.
Police termed the recovery a win in the war on terrorism and argued the weapons were to be used in an undisclosed terror mission.
The weapons are not Kenyan because they have not been registered in the country.
The three were all of Somali origin but had Kenyan identity cards.
They were identified, as Nur Ibrahim Alaso Hadadob was the driver, Jimale Abey Mahamad Griftu and Abdirizack Mohamed Ali Elwak.
Police who were patrolling the area spotted the salon car at about 5,00 pm on Monday before the driver sped off prompting a chase, which took four hours to end with the recovery.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border and Dadaab which hosts thousands of refugees most of whom are from Somalia.
The camps in Dadaab comprises four camps: Dagahaley, Ifo, Ifo 2 and Hagadera.
North Eastern police boss Rono Bunei said they are investigating further to establish the mission for the weapons.
He however said their intention was to cause a terror attack in Kenya but they had not known where and when.
“These were transporting them for a terror-related mission here. We are on alert,” he said.
Other officials said the weapons were probably headed to one of the refugee camps there before they could be used elsewhere on a terror mission.
Currently, there is an influx of aliens in the refugee camps some of whom could be Al-Shabaab operatives disguised as asylum seekers.
Police say the refugee camps are still used as logistical, transit, and facilitation centres for Al-Shabaab operatives, thus aiding the group to easily gain access into the country.
Security agencies say they found out that the perpetrators of the Westgate Mall terror attack and the Garissa University attack had been facilitated from Dadaab Refugee Camp.
One of the five men who attacked dusitD2 in 2019 came to Kenya through Dagahaley Refugee Camp in the larger Dadaab.
Because of the proximity of the region to Somalia border, the militants have been crossing and among others setting bombs on the road to target security agents.
Northern Kenya has borne the brunt of the vice due to its strategic location with Somalia, a situation complicated by a porous border.
The militants have been targeting communication masts and government installations in Northern Kenya.
Also on the receiving end are civil servants and non-locals working in the expansive region.
