Kenyan police arrest two Ugandans in stolen mobile phone syndicate
Police in Nairobi have arrested four suspects linked to the rampant disappearance of mobile phones within the city.
Among those arrested are two Ugandans and two Kenyans.
Detectives said the Ugandan who was the first to be arrested was found with a parcel of 13 smartphones believed to be destined for the black market in Uganda.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) the suspect led the sleuths to shop E17 located at Munyu Business Centre, where her accomplices were busy receiving other stolen mobile phones.
After a brief but detailed interrogation, the DCI said, the three arrested persons hurriedly led the detectives to a fourth suspect.
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The foreigners were accused of stealing phones from Nairobians before handing them to two Kenyan sisters operating a shop at Munyu Business Center.
“The suspect was waiting for the package destined for Uganda at the Simba Coach bus station,” the DCI sad.
The Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau believes this is an elaborate syndicate sneaking stolen mobile phones to neighbouring countries.
The sleuths said mobile phone thugs have found it increasingly difficult to ply their trade in the country, owing to the state-of-the-art technology being deployed by the Kenyan cybercrime detectives based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, in arresting mobile phone thieves.
DCI said that mobile phone thugs have found it increasingly difficult to ply their trade in the country, owing to the state-of-the-art technology being deployed by their Cybercrime detectives based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, in arresting mobile phone thieves.
According to the DCI, phone snatchers had adopted the strategy of shipping the devices outside the country, given that they were often nabbed through tracking of the phones.
Shipping the phones outside the country also makes it difficult to retrieve the stolen items.
Police have in the past charged those arrested with serious crimes including robbery violence and murder.
A major operation on the cartel is ongoing. Police have since appealed to those whose mobile phones may have been stolen or robbed to always report their cases.
Dozens of the gadgets are lying at the Central police station waiting for identification.