Two sisters and foreigners were arrested on Friday in Nairobi CBD in an intelligence-led operation aimed at taking down a phone theft syndicate.
DCI, in a statement, detailed that its operation on the syndicate of four began with the arrest of two Ugandan nationals in the CBD after being trailed by detectives.
The foreigners were accused of stealing phones from Nairobians before handing them to two Kenyan sisters operating a shop at Munyu Business Center.
One of the foreigners was found to have already snatched 13 phones at the time of her arrest.
Following the arrest, the two foreigners were grilled, leading to another operation at the shop at Munyu Business Center.
DCI disclosed that police found one of the sisters at the shop where the stolen phones used to be received before being shipped out of Kenya.
"After a brief but detailed interrogation, the miscreants hurriedly led the detectives to a fourth suspect waiting for the package destined for Uganda at the Simba Coach bus station.
"The detectives from the elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau based at the DCI Nairobi Regional Command have cast their nets wider for more suspects in what is believed to be an elaborate syndicate sneaking stolen mobile phones to neighbouring countries," read the statement in part.
According to the DCI, phone snatchers had adopted the strategy of shipping the devices outside the country, given that they were often nabbed through tracking of the phones.
Shipping the phones outside the country also makes it difficult to retrieve the stolen items.
The police added that they were on alert with Cybercrime detectives based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, crucial to the crackdown that has been ongoing in recent months.
DCI added that its officers would continue with similar operations to curb petty thieves and armed robbers.
