NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 1 – Police have bust a criminal syndicate that has been engaging in grand theft of vehicles in Nairobi County and its environs, and arrested 6 suspects.
The suspects have been engaging in the stealing of vehicles in the guise of hiring them from unsuspecting owners.
A detective attached to Nairobi Area region Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) office constable Simon Gachoka appearing before Senior Resident Magistrate Charles Mwaniki at the Kibera Law Courts on Monday sought orders to detain the suspects.
He said police needed more time to obtain the suspects’ phone records in order to ascertain their footprints through the Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
An identification parade is also set be conducted. Detectives also sought more time to analyze DNA samples obtained in one of the vehicles and compare it to those of suspects.
The six suspects are Fred Outa, Nahashon Ayiecha, Benson Ouma, Charles Odhiambo, Kennedy Otieno and Lucy Wainui.
Justice Mwaniki granted the police the custodial orders.The suspects will be detained for 10 days at the Kileleshwa police station.
According to preliminary investigations, two of the suspects; Fred Outa and Nahashon Ayiecha duped a small-scale trader, David Samuel Kalolo, with fake identity cards into hiring his car to them.
The suspects had sought his services while using a fake driving license saying they were set to pick up a client at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on April 13.
“The suspects hired the car for a day and paid Sh3000 to Kalolo, however once the agreement had come to an end, they failed to return the car and could not be found on phone,” said DCI Gachoka.
Court documents revealed the car was a Probox vehicle.
Investigations further revealed that one of the suspects, Fred Outa, who was arrested in Pangani area in Nairobi, was tasked by the syndicate to obtain the vehicles and deliver it to one of the members who was tasked with, “deleting history of the stolen vehicle and giving it a new identity.”
Benson Ouma, police say was the gang member responsible for that. He was arrested in Donholm.
Copies of the duped businessman’s identity card were recovered during the bust.
The other aspects were meanwhile apprehended in Ruai and Ngong.
“Upon quick search, a registration plate number KCU 276R which belongs to one of the motor vehicles reported stolen was found partially destroyed and hidden under the back seat,” said DCI Gachoka in an affidavit filed by prosecution counsel Allan Mogere and seen by Shahidi News.
Another stolen vehicle was recovered along Kangundo road in a car yard said to be of one of the suspects, Lucy Wainui.
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