Police Officers from the Voi Police Station on Tuesday morning arrested three suspected highway robbers following an impromptu operation.
According to detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspects were apprehended after a surveillance operation along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
The trio, consisting of two males aged 36 and 40, and a 32-year-old female, had been evading police efforts for several weeks before their arrest. The detectives reported that the suspects were intercepted at Vacani Resort in Nairobi while traveling in a white Subaru Legacy with a licensed number plate.
While addressing the public after the operation, the detective emphasized the importance of such surveillance efforts and reaffirmed their commitment to cracking down on criminal activities along major highways.
Following their arrest, the officers searched the suspects and recovered several suspicious items, including three number plates, jungle uniforms, a kitchen knife, and two Maasai swords. The detectives also discovered a mechanic's kit containing spanners, a jack, pressure pumps, puncture repair tools, brake pads, and various house-breaking implements.
The three suspects are currently in police custody at Voi Police Station, where they are set to undergo processing in preparation for their arraignment in court.
This latest operation comes just three days after DCI officers arrested three individuals in Kisauni, Mombasa County, and recovered a stolen motor vehicle. On Friday, March 28, DCI revealed that the silver Toyota Axio had been stolen from Buruburu Police Station in Nairobi.
Acting on forensic leads, detectives tracked the vehicle to the Utange area, where they found its tracking device abandoned about 20 meters from the perimeter wall of a compound. Upon further investigation, the vehicle was discovered to be fitted with a different registration plate, and its front dashboard was partially dismantled, suggesting preparations for resale or parts trade.
The officers also recovered various items, including assorted car keys, dismantled car trackers, a key programming machine, four number plates, two logbooks, and a laptop.
Vehicle theft has been prevalent in recent weeks, particularly in major cities in Kenya, despite the police crackdown on the same. On March 24, Kajiado Central detectives and Nairobi DCI officers nabbed three suspects linked to the theft of a Scania lorry.
According to DCI officers, the lorry, loaded with maize worth Ksh1.7 million, was en route to Nairobi’s Industrial Area from Tanzania when it was stolen.
The theft occurred when the lorry’s driver parked at Maduka ya Juu in Kajiado, The driver was in the company of a woman who had joined the journey at the Namanga border.
While the driver briefly stepped away to use a nearby restroom, he returned to find the woman holding two soft drinks. After consuming one, the driver began feeling drowsy and fell asleep inside the vehicle. When he regained consciousness the following day, he found himself lying on the ground, with both the lorry and the woman missing.
"Swift investigations led to crucial forensic breakthroughs, culminating in the recovery of the lorry stripped of its cargo and abandoned in Embakasi," the DCI officers noted.
"Investigations further revealed that the stolen maize was offloaded in Kiandutu, Thika, and sold to millers based in Makongeni who have since been summoned to SCCIO Kajiado for further interrogation."
