Woman robbed of Sh400,000 while on way to bank in Kariobangi
A woman was attacked and robbed of Sh443,000 as she headed to a bank in Kariobangi South area, Nairobi.
The victim who operates an M-Pesa business in the area said she was headed to the bank on July 4 when gunmen on a motorcycle confronted her in the Civil Servant area.
She told police she was headed for a bank and had boarded a motorcycle when another with two men with facemasks, stopped them at gunpoint.
They then ordered her to surrender a bag she had and contained the cash.
The gang grabbed the cash and rode off leaving the rider and his pillion passenger who was the victim, stranded at the scene.
Police said they are pursuing the gang and that they are following good leads into the same.
The gunman shot once to the air as they escaped from the scene. Police combed the scene and recovered one spent cartridge that is now under ballistic examination as part of the probe into the attack.
Police believe the gang had prior information on the movements of the woman and the cash she was carrying.
Such incidents where victims are attacked and robbed of cash after or while headed for banks have been on the rise.
Police say they are cracking down on the gangs behind the trend.
Last week, a gang that attacked and robbed a businessman of Sh999,000 after leaving a bank in the Parklands area, Nairobi was trailed and arrested in Eldoret town.
A car that the gang used in the mission was also recovered from one of the suspects together with a reflective jacket and police headgear.
Last month, a man was robbed Sh7 million after leaving a bank in Nairobi Central Business District.
In February this year, a woman was robbed of Sh3.6 million outside a petrol station along Lungalunga Road, Nairobi.
The woman told police she had withdrawn the cash from a bank and was taking the same to boost her business when the gang that seemed to have trailed her struck.
In January this year, unknown suspects broke into a businessman’s car and stole Sh1.8 million moments after he had withdrawn the same from a bank in Kitengela Township, Kajiado County.
Police say their investigations show some bank employees reveal such transactions to gangs who stay in the banking halls or hang out there, enabling them to track and strike.