The ship that docked last Thursday at the Port of Mombasa eliciting prompt response by a contigent of Kenya Special Forces is now confirmed to have been transporting weapons.
Mv Hoegh Autoliner, a Norwegian vessel was reportedly ferrying motor vehicles from Norway before making a stop over in Mumbai, India on transit to Mombasa.
According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO), 9 American M16 guns and other weapon systems were recovered from the ship.
The vehicle carrier which was transporting trucks from India to be used for UN Peace Keeping Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Port Authorities, did not declare in their cargo manifest that it had weapons aboard.
"I am aware that the manifest says that military trucks from India were supposed to pass through Mombasa port in transit to the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda but I can confirm that the manifest had not indicated that weapons were among the hardware," said Mohamed Morowa, Head of Security at the Port told Standard.
Reports further indicate that apart from the nine M16 guns, 18 machine guns stashed in the compartments of the military vehicles on board were also discovered.
Other reports suggest that some Pakistani operators may have smuggled the ammunition into the vessel while at Mumbai.
Last week the Kenya Police confirmed that they had received intelligence from India that the vehicle carrier was transporting suspicious cargo.
The vessel's Captain and his crew are said to be detained by the security forces as investigations into the matter continue with the destination or receivers of the sophisticated weapons yet to be established.
