Five arrested as police recover 65 stolen phones in Nairobi crackdown
Five suspects were arrested following a police operation targeting a criminal syndicate linked to a spate of robberies and mobile phone snatching incidents across Nairobi and its surrounding areas.
The operation, conducted on Wednesday evening, was based on intelligence gathered on the activities of the suspected gang.
The raid was staged in Mathare’s Kosovo area, a known den for some hardened criminals.
A gang leader in the saga was arrested in Machakos area as he fled in a car to Mombasa. He had been traced to a traffic jam caused by an accident on the Mombasa highway where six people were killed on Monday night.
During the raid, police recovered a cache of items believed to have been stolen, including 65 assorted mobile phones, three laptops, a heat gun, two motorcycles and 50 pieces of assorted motorcycle protective gear.
According to police, the suspects failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the ownership and possession of the recovered items during interrogation.
The five were placed in lawful police custody pending further investigations to establish the source and rightful owners of the recovered property.
Some of the arrested suspects are repeat offenders with pending cases in courts.
Police said the raid was linked to the attack by gunmen on a restaurant along General Mathenge Road in Westlands. Some of the stolen mobile phones were recovered in the raid. The hunt on the gunmen who attacked Chai Wali restaurant are at large and have been traced to western Kenya.
Police handling the case said they have all the suspects’ details.
“They are on the run and it is a matter of time before we get them,” said an official aware of the probe.
The gang’s aim is to get high end mobile phones and can kill on provocation.
Detectives are pursuing four armed robbers who staged a daring late-night raid at a restaurant along General Mathenge Road in Nairobi’s Westlands area. The gang, according to police and witnesses riding on two motorcycles, struck Chai Wali Hotel on July 4 night after two of the suspects entered the restaurant pretending to be customers.
Once inside, they drew pistols and robbed patrons of seven mobile phones and one HP laptop in a robbery that lasted less than a minute.
Before fleeing towards the Parklands area, the attackers fired two rounds into the air. Police recovered a spent 9mm cartridge at the scene as evidence.
Investigators later tracked the stolen mobile phones to the Kariobangi area as efforts to identify and arrest the suspects continue. Footage shared showed the gunmen with face masks with pistols and demanding valuables at gunpoint.
They grabbed what they could before they stormed out and shot to the air to scare those who could dare confront them. Some customers were seen taking cover as the gang shot to the air and escaped on motorcycles. Police said they were pursuing good leads into the attack and efforts to trace and arrest the gang were ongoing.