Detectives from the counties of Nyandarua and Nakuru are looking for five offenders who kidnapped family members and acquaintances, held them at gunpoint for the theft of cash and other items worth more than Sh500,000, pretending to be police officials.
The gang which is made up of five people, who dresses up like police officials, labelled down the victims who were in two private vehicles on Saturday night as they were traveling from a wedding along the Ol Kalou-Nakuru highway near Nakuru.
According to Erick Ochieng, director of Criminal Investigations in Nyandarua, the suspects decided to inspect the vehicle, where they got in and drove it into the forest where they robbed the victims and drove away with one of the victims’ vehicles which was later found on Sunday burnt in Nakuru.
“The criminals posing as police officers began to inspect the vehicles while holding weapons. They jumped in and took the victims into a forest, vandalising and robbing them before using one of the cars to flee. The stolen car was found burned on Sunday night in Barnabas, Nakuru County” said Erick Ochieng, DCI head, Nyandarua
The head of the DCI urged the public to keep an eye out for anyone selling watches, cell phones, or other electronic devices that might have been stolen, and to report them to the local police station.
“The offenders are being tracked down by our police in Nakuru and Nyandarua. In the event that they come across someone selling watches, cell phones, or other gadgets they suspect to be stolen, we encourage the public to call the police” added DCI Head.
The victims in the forest were made to lie down before being robbed of their possessions, which were taken for cash and M-Pesa transactions totaling Sh222,900 and Sh236,200, respectively.
Mobile phones, wristwatches, personal documents such ATM cards, driving licenses, letters of admission to schools, medical insurance coverage cards, Sony cameras, bags carrying clothing, and other articles and personal effects were among the ten victims’ stolen property.
None of the victims were hurt during the attack, according to Mr. Ochieng.
