In a concerted effort to combat mobile phone theft in Nairobi, detectives have successfully retrieved 354 mobile phones in a strategic operation in the Kayole area. This operation, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, was led by officers from the Kayole Police Station and is part of a broader initiative to address the escalating problem of mobile phone theft in the city.
The National Police Service (NPS) reported that the mobile phones were recovered from a Toyota Premio with the registration number KAZ 505F in Umoja at approximately 02:10 on 25/11/2023. A suspect, Dennis Kioko Mutua, was arrested in connection with the theft and is currently detained at the Kayole Police Station awaiting trial.
This operation follows a similar one in Nyeri, where detectives recovered 417 phones suspected of being stolen. A 32-year-old man, along with two accomplices, was arrested during the operation on November 3. The investigation was triggered by the arrest of two men, John Kariuki and James Thuita, who were caught stealing mobile phones from shoppers in Gatitu, Nyeri on November 1, 2023. Further investigations led detectives to a mobile phone repair shop in Gatitu, run by an accomplice, David Thinwa Ngatia.
Upon arresting Ngatia, the detectives discovered a stash of stolen goods, including the suspected stolen mobile phones, two TV sets, three laptops, two cameras, 47 mobile subscriber sim cards, and an HP printer, among other items. All these items were seized and preserved as exhibits for further investigation.
Uganda black market
The Nyeri security command has expressed concern over the increasing incidents of pickpocketing, particularly the theft of smartphones. The public has been warned to remain vigilant and take precautions to safeguard their belongings.
On October 14, detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) nabbed two Ugandans and their Kenyan collaborators in a night raid targeting a phone theft syndicate.
The operation led by DCI’s Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau yielded four suspects.
The suspects identified as Malumasi Aisha and Agaba Anestus Majuni, both from naighbouring Uganda, were arrested alongside Sarah Njeri and her sibling Mary Wangui within Nairobi’s Central Business District.
Malumasi, the detectives said, was found in possession of thirteen smartphones believed to be destined for Uganda.
She then led the agents to her accomplices — Sarah Wangari and Mary Wangui — who then led the detectives to the fourth suspect, Agaba Majuni.
Majuni, DCI reported, was preparing to dispatch stollen phones through a parcel service operated by a local bus company.
DCI described the operation as significant in disrupting phone theft syndicates in the capital.
“Mobile phone thugs have found it increasingly difficult to ply their trade in the country, owing to the state of art technology being deployed by our cybercrime detectives based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, in arresting mobile phone thieves,” the agency said on October 14.