Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have launched a crackdown on a gang caught on CCTV robbing people in broad daylight in Mombasa County.
On Friday, April 22, the DCI stated that detectives drawn from its elite teams have been assembled to fight the gang, further indicating that some members of the group were already in custody.
DCI stated that preliminary investigations revealed the robbers had been identified as members of the ‘Haipingwi’ gang that has been reigning terror on residents of Mombasa Old Town.
"Two days ago, a videotape of young men assaulting members of the public in Mombasa’s Old Town surfaced in sections of the press. The young men operating in a group of about 15 thugs were captured on CCTV in two separate incidents, terrorizing two men who were going about their businesses on April 19, 2020," the DCI stated.
"In this regard, battle-hardened undercover detectives drawn from DCI’s elite teams have now tilted fire towards the town, on a mission to completely wipe out the ‘Haipingwi’ gang once and for all."
After the footage was shared on social media platforms, DCI deployed a contingent of officers drawn from Mombasa Central Police Station, backed by Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU), with detectives mounting an operation to bring the suspects to book.
DCI noted that five of the gang members captured on CCTV were arrested in Kibokoni, Kikowani and Makadara areas of Mombasa.
"Detectives have since established that the five belong to a recently formed notorious squad known as the ‘Haipingwi’ gang, responsible for the sudden upsurge of crime in Mombasa’s Old town," DCI stated.
DCI cautioned the other gang members to either surrender peacefully or face the wrath of the elite squad that is hunting them down.
"Meanwhile, the remaining thugs who are still at large have been warned to either surrender or suffer a similar fate as what befell Mathare’s infamous Katombi gang," the DCI warned.
The footage captured on Tuesday, showed a group of more than 20 gang members, clobbering residents along the streets of Old Town.
The CCTV footage, which has been circulating on social media, caused uproar as members of the public demanded swift action against such gangs which are cropping up in the political season.
