Robbers escape with Sh700,000 loot after drilling hole in phone shop
Details have emerged of how two robbers pulled of a daring heist that saw them escaping with merchandise worth at least Sh700,000 after they drilled a hole through a phone shop in Kitengela.
On the night of January 12, 2023, the two men booked two rooms in a lodging adjacent to the phone shop at around 4pm.
It took the two men at least eight hours to drill a hole from one of the rooms into the shop, an incident that was captured by surveillance cameras.
A surveillance footage shows two smartly dressed men entering the main shop area from the backside at 5.08am.
The first suspect is seen squeezing himself through the hole, switching off one of the CCTV cameras then signaling his accomplice to follow him.
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They are then seen ransacking the shop before leaving at 6.20am with their loot.
Speaking to the Nation, the owner of the shop said the crime was calculated.
“It was a premeditated crime. I lost new phone handsets, credit cards, EarPods and cash,” he said.
Risper Kawira, a shop attendant, said she found the shop messy and the shelves emptied on Friday morning.
Cornelius Nzioka, 51, the caretaker of the lodging, said the two suspects approached the receptionist on duty on Thursday evening and booked two rooms.
“One of the suspects was a regular customer and always preferred room 106 which is adjacent to the phone shop,” Mr Nzioka said.
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He added that the identification personal details that the suspects gave to the receptionist were discovered to be fake. The mobile phone numbers they provided are out of service.
The incident was reported at Kitengela police station under OB number 22/13/01/2023. No suspect has been arrested over the theft.
In the recent past, there has been a spike in robbery incidences in Kitengela.
On Saturday, an M-Pesa attendant was attacked by five people around 6pm. The robbers made away with Sh200,000.
In all the four over the weekend crimes, the perpetrators are middle aged men operating in a full glare of CCTV cameras.
Isinya Sub-County Police Commander Ancent Kaloki said officers are investigating the incidences and urged all victims to record formal complaints at the police stations.
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