The National Police Service rescued two children who were abducted in Garissa County while on their way to Islamic lessons and arrested six individuals in connection with the incident on Saturday.

The incident was reported at around 10:00 a.m. when Surura Hire informed the police that her two grandchildren — T.M., aged 10, and I.M., aged 7 — had left home for their daily duksi (Islamic school) but failed to return.

The children were last seen being forced into a black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, registration number KDL 171S, heading in an unknown direction.

Acting swiftly on the report, police launched a manhunt and circulated alerts to nearby counties.

The suspect vehicle was intercepted at a police roadblock in Garsen, Tana River County.

Officers at the scene successfully rescued the two children and detained all occupants of the vehicle.

The six individuals held are identified as Ibrahim Saeed Same, a 42-year-old Australian national; Ali Ada Kuno, 23; Khalid Abdullahi Mohammed, 25; Malyun Kassim Hussein, 35; and the two children, T.M. and I.M.

Police confirmed that the children were found unharmed and are now under the care of authorities as investigations continue.

The four adults are in custody awaiting further processing as detectives probe the motive behind the abduction.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has taken over the case, with officers indicating that all possible leads, including child trafficking and exploitation, are being pursued.