The police have apprehended three individuals believed to be the masterminds of a suspected gang that has been targeting motorists on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
The individuals, according to police, have been robbing unsuspecting motorists using very unusual means.
The three, in their tricks, devised a means where they hide in nearby thickets on the road, only to jump onto the road while attempting to cross it as soon as their next target approaches.
As soon as the driver attempts to avoid a collision, other robbers emerge from the bushes and forcefully enter the vehicle, while brandishing a pistol.
The criminals then bundle the driver behind the seats of the lorry and drive off the vehicle. After driving for some metres, they then drop their victims on the road and speed off.
One such incident was when the three pulled a similar act on April 9, this year, which prompted detectives to jump on their trail.
''On that fateful day, an Isuzu FRR truck transporting gypsum from Nairobi to Mombasa. As the vehicle approached the Ikanga area, one of the suspects dashed out from a nearby thicket, attempting to cross the road. In a split-second decision to avoid collision, the driver swerved, causing the truck to veer off the road and its engine to stall,'' read part of a police report on Wednesday, June 4.
''Seizing this opportunity, a group of about five emerged from the bushes, forcefully entering the vehicle with one brandishing a pistol. The driver and his co-driver were handcuffed and bundled behind the seats. One of the robbers took the wheel, steering the lorry towards Mombasa. The two victims were unceremoniously dropped off about 300 meters away as the criminals vanished with the truck.''
Following this incident, detectives launched an investigation, and through a forensic analysis, two of the suspects were trailed and arrested at a hideout in Taveta.
During their apprehension, one of the suspects led officers to his rented house in Bahati area of Taveta sub-county, where a number plate belonging to the stolen lorry was recovered, alongside a T-shaped screwdriver and two spanners.
The duo was subsequently presented before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Voi on May 19, 2025, where detectives were granted a 14-day custodial order to further their investigation.
As the search continued, a third key suspect was apprehended in Makindu on June 2, 2025. She too faced the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Voi, where detectives received an additional 14-day custodial order to complete their investigation and pursue further leads to arrest additional suspects involved in these highway robberies, as well as to recover the stolen lorry.
