By C. Bryson Hull

NAIROBI, June 9 (Reuters) Kenyan police today arrested two Armenian brothers whose swaggering lifestyle turned them into celebrities after they were accused of being mercenaries involved in a controversial police raid on media offices.

There have been repeated allegations that the wealthy Armenians, known for their fleet of luxury cars and flashy jewellery, were protected by powerful political allies in Kenya.

Police seized a Mercedes car with government plates during a raid on the heavily guarded home of Artur Margariyan and Arthur Sargsian (Eds: correct) in a ritzy Nairobi suburb early today. A lesser known brother, Arman, was also arrested.

Police sources said they made the arrests after the brothers roughed up customs officials at Nairobi airport. They have not made public any exact charges.

''They were supposed to pay for some items they were carrying, and they got into a scuffle before leaving. They were followed home,'' said a police official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The sources said later the brothers were at the airport today awaiting deportation.

The private Citizen television station showed police seizing a dozen car license plates, including some supposed to be issued only to diplomats, during the raid. Among more than 10 luxury cars at their home, a Lexus truck could also be seen with red and blue police lights in the grille.

The police official said guns, machetes and bulletproof vests were recovered.

The brothers burst onto Kenyan front pages in March after opposition politician Raila Odinga accused them of being mercenaries behind a raid on a major Kenyan media house that drew a storm of domestic and international criticism.

The brothers denied Odinga's charges.

The raid by police commandos on KTN television and its sister newspaper the Standard was seen as a low point in the three-year rule of President Mwai Kibaki, already suffering from a sharp fall in popularity and major corruption scandals.

The Kenyan government justified the raid by saying journalists had been bribed to plant stories that threatened national security, but never clarified what the stories were.

The government promised an investigation into the Armenians, but has never made results public.

Lawyers for the men could not immediately be reached for comment today.

The brothers have told Reuters they are businessmen based in Dubai with interests in import-export, property development, a nightclub and gold and diamond trading.

They have become fixtures in cartoons and gossip columns despite their repeated assertions that they are respectable businessmen prepared to invest large sums in Kenya.

Reuters SHR RS1951