The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday arrested five gang members captured on video bragging about mugging innocent Kenyans.
In a statement, the agency indicated that the suspects were apprehended in an intelligence-led operation conducted by officers from the Central Police Station in Mombasa.
The officers believed that the five members of an organised criminal group that has been operating within the Sargoi area and its neighbourhoods.
Earlier, the five suspects were captured in a video recording while displaying items that they had stolen from their victims.
"Upon search, a navy blue jacket that had been captured in the video recording, three iPhones, a Samsung phone, a Memojo phone, and a Bluetooth headphone, among other items, were recovered from them," read the police statement in part.
"The five have been processed pending arraignment."
The clip, which went viral on TikTok and Twitter, showed some of the suspects claiming that they were preparing to steal more goods during an upcoming concert slated for December 31, 2023.
They taunted their victims to show up at the concert, which will be headlined by a popular Tanzanian gospel artist with more expensive electronics.
"We are carrying out our business. There is this individual who left us a court and car keys. We have phones too," the gang members are heard saying.
In recent years, DCI officers have been using social media to rein in criminals whose clips engaging in criminal activities make it into the platforms.
For instance, the agency apprehended two suspects in December last year who allegedly fed alcohol to a 3-year-old during a Christmas party.
The two are said to have gatecrashed a Christmas party at a Nairobi estate and tricked the child into taking the alcohol. The minor's caregiver was asleep at the time.
