Police in Kibwezi recovered 418 bags of rice out of the 522 that were stolen while en route to Nairobi from Mombasa, when the transporting lorry was intercepted and commandeered by a five-man gang at Thange area.
Three suspects among them a police officer were later arrested a few kilometers away after escaping from the incident, police said.
They were found waiting to carry the stolen bags of rice, detectives said.
The police officer was found armed with a Scorpion firearm and in full uniform in a salon car with two civilians who they claimed were part of the group robbing highway lorry drivers.
In the Wednesday morning incident, the 46-year-old driver of the Isuzu FRR lorry had slowed down at a bumpy section behind another slow-moving trailer when the gang suddenly emerged and managed to gain entry into the driver’s cabin.
After inspecting to establish what he was ferrying, the men assaulted him before tying him up with ropes and throwing him out as they drove off the highway.
A motorcyclist, a member of the local community, who found the fear-stricken driver helplessly shivering in the cold, gave him a ride to the Machinery Police Post.
Police handling the case said this act of support and solidarity, where the driver reported his ordeal and the theft of 522 bags, each containing 25kg of rice, is a testament to the strength of our community policing.
The highway robbery was circulated across all police networks between Nairobi and Mombasa, where the Director of Operations at DCI HQs and his Coast counterpart mobilized Kibwezi teams in the pursuit, working with crucial leads obtained from tip-offs.
The efforts finally paid off when the lorry minus 106 bags was found abandoned near Manyanga shopping centre.
The same was driven to Kibwezi Police Station as pursuit for the suspects continue.
Few hours later, police on patrol found two men and a police officer in a probox waiting for the cargo to be delivered there for transportation.
Bodaboda riders said the same car has been involved in past such attacks on lorry drivers with assorted goods.
Detectives are pursuing more leads into the gang. Some drivers using the highway are usually attacked and robbed of their goods.
The gangs behind the incidents move around with spare lorries and small cars that they use to ferry the stolen property.
Police have formed units to pursue the gangs, which are also common on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
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