Police in Nyeri had a breakthrough on Saturday on an investigation involving a car theft syndicate that had rocked the town and its surroundings in recent times after they nabbed five people involved.
The five were taken to the Nyeri police station on an accusation of trying to sell a vehicle that had been stolen earlier in the area.
Reports by Daily Nation indicated that police labelled the arrests as a breakthrough because they had hit a snag in the investigations over the increase of car thefts.
The towns that were majorly affected by the crime in the past three months were Nyeri, Kerugoya and Murang’a towns.
Police reported that the syndicate had specialized in duplicating car number plates and other registration details, using them on stolen vehicles and reselling the cars to unsuspecting buyers.
The vehicle they were trying to sell was seized at Kenol in Murang’a county by police who also traced the car whose details they had duplicated.
The genuinely registered car was used as a taxi in Nyeri town before the owner sold it with both vehicles being Toyota NZEs with the number plate KBN 758W.
“They have even managed to get the personal details of the original owner and created a logbook and legitimate registration plates," Nyeri Central Sub-County Police Commander Paul Kuria announced.
"This means they must be colluding with officers in State agencies. We have made a key breakthrough in breaking the syndicate," he added.
Police also noted that the five would be arraigned in court on Monday to answer charges of handling stolen property as they completed their investigations in hope of arresting other suspects.
