Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Monday, June 12 killed four gangsters suspected of participating in cross-county robberies.
In a statement, DCI claimed that the four gangsters defied orders to surrender and instead opted to engage the sleuths in a fierce shoot out at night.
The four were gunned down at Takaungu Kilifi County, where they had allegedly planned to stage a heist. According to detectives, the four were trailed from Mombasa to Kilifi.
"Sounds of gunfire rent the air in the sleepy coastal creek of Takaungu in Kilifi County last night, as the sleuths drawn from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, augmented by marksmen from the DCI Operations branch answered to the thugs’ provocation with precision," DCI's statement read in part.
The security agency noted that the four assailants had been on police radar since July 27, 2021, when they conducted a heist at a local Matuu, Machakos County bank. During the heist, they made away with an undisclosed amount of money.
Besides stealing money from the bank, the four allegedly stole a rifle from a law enforcement officer deployed to man the financial institution.
CCTV cameras mounted outside the bank recorded them wrestling a police officer before disarming her and later conducting the bank heist.
"This is after they disarmed a police officer who was on duty and took off with her AK-47 rifle serial number KE KP 5*****5, that was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition," the DCI explained.
The detectives accused the suspects of using the gun to rob mobile money transfer agents and businesses in Mombasa and Kwale counties.
Two motorbikes used to run their operations in different counties were also seized.
"The two bikes, Boxer KMFS **** and Haogin KMEF ****, both red in colour that were used by the suspects as getaway means, were also impounded," the report indicated.
The shooting down of the suspects came after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki reiterated that security officers would do everything to protect Kenyans as well as their businesses and property.
Kindiki started by launching a crackdown in Nairobi where crime rates have since reduced significantly.
