Police in Kwale county arrested 17 suspects at Samburu in a two-bedroom house where police said they found counterfeit goods.
On arraignment in a Kwale court on Tuesday, police were allowed to detain the 17 suspects arrested over suspected links with Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab.
Police suspect the youths were on their way to Somalia to join the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.
Speaking to the Nation via phone Kinango OCPD John Kemboi said they suspected the youths, aged between 18 and 27, were new recruits.
“We suspect the youth were being organised to join terror groups because it is strange to find the group of youth in a house. It seems they were up to something,” he said.
But the suspects denied the allegations, counter-accusing the police of harassment and confiscating their mobile phones.The suspects told the court that they were doing business with a registered company.