MACHAKOS,Kenya, Jan, 19 – Police are close to exposing a criminal syndicate operating in Machakos, Kajiado, Nairobi and Kiambu counties following the reemergence of stock theft that has caused owners losses in millions of shillings.
Six people have so far been arrested in connection with the stock theft syndicate. They have been identified as: Pauline Muthoni, David Macharia, Peter Njenga, Ngenoi Hilalu and Samwel Mwangi.
Five of the suspects are being detained at the Athi River police station while one is being held at the Kiserian Police station.
“In the past one and a half years, we have had a series of stock theft within Machakos County and its environs that include Kajiado, Nairobi, and Kiambu counties. From the onset, we were convinced that this was an organized crime that was being carried out by a cartel,” said Athi River Sub County police commander Anderson Njagi.
The six were apprehended following weeks of investigations led by detectives from the directorate of criminal investigations (DCI).
“And this culminated into the night of December 16, 2021 when we lost 15 herds of cattle stolen from Portland village within Athi River. After this incident, we embarked on intensive investigations which involved both physical and forensic analysis,” he said.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the criminal organisation have used locals to conduct ‘ground-work’ later informing them on which village to raid. It is a ‘conduit’ police say that has been operating for months with criminals.
The six suspects will now be detained for 14 days before being arraigned.
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