VIDEO – Police nab five suspected gangsters
Police on Friday, July 2, 2021, arrested five suspected bank robbers in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
The suspects were reportedly arrested at their hideout in a city lodging located next to Prime Bank branch in Kamukunji. The bank was their alleged target,
Police said they received a tip-off from a member of the public over the planned robbery, adding that the gang had canvassed the area for days before checking in at the said lodging.
According to Nairobi Central Sub-County Police Commander John Nyamu, the five suspects had checked in one of the lodgings in the area where they would allegedly commit the crime.
DCI sleuths and officers from Kamukunji police station made the arrests before the suspects had a chance to break into the bank located at Angle House along Ukwala lane, in downtown Nairobi.
Charles Mulo, Fredrick Muderwa, Jesse Muriuki, Gabriel Mungai and Reuben Njuka had booked themselves into different guest rooms at the said building, which shares the same wall with the bank.
“They had planned to drill their way into the bank in the dead of the night. However detectives got wind of the plan and spoilt their party! They stormed into the building with a thud forcing the thugs to scamper, taking cover in the ceiling like cornered rats,” said Nyamu.
He added that they had established that the five were waiting to conduct their raid in the wee hours of Friday.
In one of the rooms, detectives also established that they could have easily broken into the banking hall by drilling their way right at the comfort of their rooms.
“They were targeting Prime Bank, which is located in the same building. The bank shares a wall with the guest room, where the five had sought accommodation,” police added.
Police recovered three hacksaws, a metal hand-held drill, metal bars and special scissors used to cut metal. “We also recovered a suitcase that was to be allegedly used to carry the stolen cash,” he added.
The five suspects have since been processed by police and are being detained at the Kamukunji police station ahead of being arraigned on Monday, as police commence their investigations.
In January, two police officers and a bank teller were arrested after a daring daylight bank heist at Prime Bank’s Mombasa road branch.
The six robbers according to the police first disarmed two officers attached to the Administration Police’s Critical Infrastructure Police Unit (CIPU) Langata who were guarding the bank.
A police statement described how the robbers entered Hypermat and Ramtons premises near City Cabanas/Kyangombe exchange at around 2.45pm.
“They confronted Corporal Mohammed Hassan and Corporal Eunice Syengo before disarming them of the Scorpion firearms with a total of 60 rounds of ammunition,” the statement read in part.
A few days later, four suspected robbers narrowly escaped death following a botched bank heist at Cooperative bank, University Way branch in Nairobi.
Police from the Central police station were quickly called into action as angry citizens stopped the vehicle they attempted to flee in.
Last year, five suspects were arrested in yet another botched bank heist targeting a KCB branch in Busia town. The suspects allegedly attempted to withdraw close to Sh28.5 million from an unknown person’s bank account.