A bag police suspected carried explosives was instead full of personal items belonging to a top American sheriff, the Nairobi police boss said on Monday.
The bag, which was abandoned at a Nairobi hotel on Saturday, contained documents belonging to one of the police chiefs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Nairobi’s Central OCPD Patrick Oduma on Monday said that bomb experts who visited the scene found that the bag carried personal items belonging to Mr James R. Lopez, the commander of one of the 13 divisions of the County Sheriff Department.
It had been abandoned at an Arizonas Hotel, about 40 metres from the Kampala Coach bus offices.
Mr Paul Kilonzo, the manager at Arizons Hotel told the police that on Saturday morning, an unknown man entered the hotel and left the bag on the dining table.
According to the CCTV footage seen by the police, the man walked into the hotel at 9.46am and left two minutes later. He wrote a note and left it on top of the bag. The note read: “If you get the bag, take it to Laico Regency.”
Officers from the bomb disposal unit were called in and blew the bag using detonators. On checking the contents, police found that the bag belonged to Mr James R. Lopez, a resident of Los Angeles. The bag had a medal, car keys, two military stars, and a notebook among other things.
Information from the departments website shows that Mr Lopez heads one of the 13 divisions of the County Sheriff Department where he oversees the operations of six patrol stations. He has also worked at an agency that fights drugs.
Elsewhere, police in Karen are looking for a gang that robbed a British family. Mr Jonathan David was seriously injured when about 15 men armed with AK-47 rifles attacked his family during a wedding ceremony in Karen. They ordered the guests to lie down before robbing them.-Daily Nation
