2 Police Officers Arrested in Meru After Hijacking Lorry

Hands resting on jail bars at a police station.
A photo of a person resting his hands on jail bars at a police station.
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Kenya Prisons

Two armed police officers attached to a police station in Meru were taken behind bars for allegedly participating in an armed robbery.

In a statement shared on Saturday, July 16, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) noted that the two officers were linked in an incident where a lorry ferrying hardware goods worth Ksh600,000 from Isiolo to Tharaka Nithi, was blocked at Ura Gate area.

The two were identified as Sergeant John Lekidayo and Constable Kelvin Kinyua.

The lorry was blocked by four individuals who introduced themselves as police officers and claimed that it was transporting counterfeit products.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters along Kiambu Road
Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters along Kiambu Road
Simon Kiragu
Kenyans.co.ke

The lorry's driver and turnboy were then tied and bundled onto a waiting car before being dumped at an undisclosed location.

"The lorry driver, Morris Nyaga, and his two loaders, David Kuyo and Bonface Orito, were handcuffed by the officers one of whom was armed with an AK-47 rifle and bundled into the white Toyota Fielder that had been used to block the lorry, leaving it in the hands of two strangers who had arrived with the two officers turned suspects.

"The vehicle then took off towards Kacibine market in Imenti Central, where the three were later dumped. After reporting the incident at Kiagu police post, investigations began immediately and it was established that the vehicle involved in the incident, belonged to Sergeant Lekidayo," read the statement in part.

The statement further indicated that one of the officers involved in the incident was in charge of the armoury on the day that the robbery happened.

The officers issued an AK-47 to his accomplice which was used in the incident.

The two officers are then said to have proceeded for unspecified duties that were not booked at the station raising more suspicion on their whereabouts, during the time when the incident is reported to have occurred.

"Detectives based at the forensic crime scene investigations unit and their cybercrime counterparts have since been invited to conduct forensic analysis and net the remaining suspects," added the statement.

Meanwhile, the lorry which had ferried the goods, was found abandoned while empty, indicating that the goods may have been offloaded to another vehicle.

An image of vehicles parked outside a police station
An image of vehicles parked outside a police station.
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