Six suspects were arrested in a police operation in connection with the December 6, 2023 daring breaking into a police armoury and stealing a loaded AK47 rifle in Meru.
Detectives arraigned six suspects at Maua Law Courts Thursday over the drama.
Among other offences, the suspects, David Kaberia Kobia, Felix Kimathi Mutheria, Benard Mutuma alias Toto, Pius Ntongai, Eliud Mukiri Kalatu and Erastus Mwenda Kaibutia are believed to have incited over 500 mourners at a 16-year-old boy’s funeral in Muringene, Igembe Central, to raid Antubeiga Police Post where they stole the rifle and set the exhibit store and a female officer’s house ablaze.
Armed with the stolen rifle held by Erastus Mwenda, the mob proceeded to Muringene Police Station where they subdued the officers and aided the escape of all the prisoners, before destroying all the station’s stationeries and furniture, then shattered window panes of the police line and the chief’s office.
On paying a keen eye on the entire riot situation, the heads of security in the region established that the occurrences were well calculated moves by some die-hard criminals, who were out to rob police firearms and further their felonious strikes in the region, police said.
Consequently, specialized units from DCI Headquarters including Crime Research and Operations detectives were deployed to join their Meru counterparts in a rigorous manhunt for the dreaded ruffians.
Erastus Mwenda was flushed out of his hideout in Nanyuki, and after a brief interrogation with police led them to VIP Bar located at Nturuba Market within Igembe Central.
A search in one of the rooms occupied by Felix Kimathi saw the recovery of a pistol that was hidden under the mattress, who upon arrest and interrogation revealed that the firearm belonged to his partner-in-crime, Eliud Mukiri Kalatu.
A quick profiling by the crime research team established that Eliud Mukiri had an ongoing case of murder at the Meru High Court, where he and others who have been on the run are charged.
Read: Cops Hunt Gang Behind Attack on Two Meru Police Stations
On December 9 intelligence leads circled a homestead at Kiengu sub-county in Igembe South, where Eliud Mukiri, 30 and Bernard Mutuma Kobia alias Toto, 28 were arrested.
Sleuths believed that the two had since taken possession of the stolen police rifle, but the hardened duo made it their (detectives) assignment to unravel the mystery.
A trail on the suspects’ movement indicated that they had been visiting a nearby prayer mountain (Thangaa Prayer Mountain), but from the look, none appeared to have been praying for the good of anyone.
After moments of search on the mountain, detectives identified a point where the region’s fertile earth had been disturbed, and upon digging, retrieved the police rifle with an empty magazine stashed in a gunny bag.
On December 10, the detectives embarked on a search for the missing rounds of ammunition, 14 of which were found buried a safe distance outside the VIP Bar located along the Maua-Kangeta road, which is owned by Eliud Mukiri. Search for the missing 15 rounds is ongoing.
When the suspects were arraigned for plea-taking Thursday, detectives established that Bernard Mutuma Toto, Felix Kimathi and Eliud Mukiri are all accomplices in the pending murder case at Meru High Court, and that Felix and Toto have been on the run.
They will as well be presented to the High Court.
Meanwhile, Maua Law Courts denied a bond request by the six suspects, scheduling the case mention for January 10, 2024.
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