Police in Nakuru have arrested 10 gang members suspected of terrorizing residents and orchestrating numerous thefts following a tip-off from members of the public.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Nakuru Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi said that residents in the area had consistently reported the gang's criminal activities, prompting the police to launch investigations. The valuable tip provided by the public enabled law enforcement officers to apprehend the long-standing suspects.
During the operation, the police recovered various items at the scene, including toy guns, rolls of bhang, knives, and mobile phones believed to have been used by the gang in their criminal activities.
“We have had continuous operations against the criminal gangs and yesterday we managed to nab 10 gang members,” the police commander noted.
Commander Ndanyi further noted that the arrested gang members are set to be arraigned in court on October 4.
“The operation is still on and we will continue even today,” he revealed.
Further, the police boss said that the gang had been targeting shops within the Nakuru Central Business District (CBD) as well as unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians.
The gang members are currently being held at the Nakuru Central Police Station awaiting to be presented in court.
Ndanyi further fired a warning to a notorious gang member, ordering him to surrender, failure to which he would be smoked out.
“There is a notorious one called Mtaani Owish, we have heard he is back after going into hiding. I want to advise him to surrender. Owish will be safer in the hands of the police than within the community because the public is against him, we advise him to surrender.
Commander Ndanyi further noted that authorities are laying down several measures such as community policing to aid in curbing the surging cases of crime within the county.
This includes getting first-hand information from the public on criminal gangs operating in different parts of the county.
The police commander lauded Nakuru residents for remaining vigilant and cooperating with the police to stamp out crime in the area.
