Detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Monday captured an elusive crossborder car thief who has long been terrorising and stealing vehicles from members of the public while simultaneously evading police arrest.
Hawk-eyed police officers spotted the suspect driving a stolen Toyota Dyna Mini Truck and when they tried to confront him, he took off running, leaving the vehicle behind.
DCI, following the arrest, revealed that the owner of the car was a 32-year-old man who had been left unconscious during the robbery and is suspected to have been drugged by carjackers who left him at the Kalii Guest House.
A short chase by the police officers ended with the suspect in cuffs and he was escorted to the Loitoktok Police Station where he is awaiting processing and later, arraignment.
Police believe that the suspect is a mastermind of an organised crime syndicate that operates by stealing cars in the country, often from unsuspecting members of the public, and then smuggling them outside the country and reselling them at a throw-away price.
This is not the first time such incidents of organised syndicates drugging victims and robbing them have been reported in Loitoktok.
In July 2023, a woman was among three suspects accused of being part of a motorist theft syndicate that overpowered their suspects by drugging them with stupefying substances and then robbing them.
The woman in this case was instrumental in carrying out these robberies as she lured the motorists by posing as a pillion passenger and then drugging them with pills before leading them to another location where her co-conspirators would show up and commit the robbery.
The gang was also selling the stolen wares across the border due to Loitoktok’s proximity to the border.
In this case, however, the DCI detectives were able to neutralise the gang after the female suspect led them to the other two gang members.
Several items including 30 tablets were recovered during a raid to one of the suspect’s house based in Loitoktok town.
"Stolen mobile phones were also recovered from the suspects, including one that had been stolen from a motorbike rider, who was stupefied before he lost his bike in Juja, Kiambu County," a report by the DCI read.
They were also discovered to have pending criminal cases in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, and Diani in Kwale County.
