Detectives have arrested five suspects believed to be members of a notorious, ruthless gang behind motor vehicle and livestock thefts across Kirinyaga, Nyeri, and Murang’a counties.
The intelligence-led operation was launched after a Toyota Sienta, registration number KCY 467A, vanished without a trace, in a case reported at Kiaruhiu Police Station.
Armed with crucial intel, law enforcement swooped in on the gang’s ringleader, Martin Ndegwa Kinyua, at Kagicha area, as he plotted to meet his partners in crime to sell off the stolen vehicle.
Under interrogation, Ndegwa led detectives to Skuta area in Nyeri, where the stolen Sienta lay camouflaged with fake plates KDJ 765J.
The operation continued with a further ambush, intercepting a getaway vehicle registration number KCS 523H, a Toyota Succeed carrying four of Ndegwa’s accomplices: Bernard Njeru Kimathi, Edwin Muchira Mwinga, Tobias Macharia Mwangi, and James Muthama Muriuki.
A quick search of the vehicle turned up ten sisal ropes, a panga, two knives, a rungu, and a master key, further revealing their criminal intentions.
As detectives delved deeper, they uncovered that, on the same night the gang stole the vehicle, they also stole and slaughtered livestock and sold the meat to shady butchers, fueling a black market that has no regard for the law. It has also been established that the gang is linked to an ongoing stock theft case currently ongoing at the Kerugoya Law Courts.
All the suspects are in custody, undergoing processing pending arraignment, as investigations and operations to trail additional accomplices continue.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations remains committed to dismantling organised criminal networks involved in motor vehicle theft, stock theft and other related offences through sustained intelligence-led operations and close collaboration with members of the public.
