A 39-year-old woman who had been missing since being abducted in Nairobi has been rescued in a police operation in Kachiongo, Maua, Meru County.
Police identified the victim as Shankara Adan Hassan and revealed that she had been held captive in an abandoned house since October 13.
Shankara Adan Hassan was abducted while travelling to her workplace at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport along Likoni Road in Nairobi. A collaborative effort involving detectives from Nairobi Area and teams from DCI Imenti North and DCI Igembe Central led to the successful operation.
The operation began with the arrest of a suspect in Maua Town. After extensive questioning, the suspect provided information that led the police to an abandoned residential house on the outskirts of Maua Town in Kachiongo, where the victim was found locked. The authorities also recovered a salon car believed to have been used in the abduction.
The police are actively searching for two additional suspects involved in the case. The victim, Shankara Adan Hassan, has been taken to receive medical attention, while the suspect and the confiscated vehicle have been transported to DCI Makadara Nairobi for further investigation.
The motive behind the abduction remains unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.
Shankara Adan Hassan was employed as a vendor selling tea and snacks at the airport cargo section of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Her ordeal began when she was traveling in a taxi from Eastleigh Section 3 to JKIA on the night of October 12. The vehicle was flagged down by individuals claiming to be police officers. After stopping, the passengers in the salon car identified themselves as police officers and ordered Shankara Adan Hassan to board their vehicle, claiming they needed her for questioning at Shauri Moyo Police Station.
The taxi driver reported the incident to the police, as he had been a frequent driver for the victim. However, when her family inquired at Shauri Moyo Police Station, they were informed that she was not in their custody.
The license plate of the salon car that the victim was forced to board was not recorded, but it was later discovered in Maua during the police operation.
The investigation is ongoing, and no leads have been uncovered concerning the perpetrators or their motives.