Police officers in Nakuru have launched a hunt for the driver of a National Youth Service (NYS) truck under registration number GKB544G who escaped arrest moments after being caught committing a crime.
This was after the driver was caught colluding with a fuel siphoning gang near Karonga Area, on Wednesday 18, 2019, in Nakuru County.
According to a report by K24 digital, Kuresoi North Deputy County Commissioner, Felix Watakila, confirmed that the suspect had parked the NYS truck at a strategic spot when two officers on patrol noticed a suspicious-looking activity.
The two officers, identified as Ndolo and Korir found the suspect whom they only identified as Koskei allowing a fuel siphoning fuel gang to siphon fuel from the government-owned vehicle into 30-litre containers and loading them onto a van bearing the registration number KAW 002H.
Once the gang realised that the patrol officers had noticed them, the group took off and the driver of the truck ignited the vehicle and drove off.
The police were, however, able to recover 160 litres of diesel and 10 empty 30-litre containers which were then taken to Kamara Assistant County Commissioner.
They also highlighted that the chief suspect, Koskei, is suspected to have been bribing patrol officers in exchange for security while committing the crime in the area.
He was believed to be operating around Kibunja, Kamara, Salgaa and Karonga trading centres.
Fuel siphoning along the on the Naivasha-Nakuru-Kericho route has been reported a number of times with a July 2019 Daily Nation report indicating that siphoning cartels are mainly made up of youth, petrol station owners, county government officials and rogue police who protect them. The report found that siphoning would also happen in broad daylight.
''After getting the fuel from lorries, they mix it with other substances and sell it to mainstream filling stations,” a local, who requested anonymity, was quoted by the publication.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) at the time estimated 28 million litres of kerosene consumed monthly in Kenya was mixed with either diesel or petrol before sale.
