Police nab suspects in Sh120m JKIA cargo heist

Detectives are investigating an incident where members of an organised criminal gang diverted a cargo truck from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Saturday, stealing mobile phones worth Sh120 million.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said that the consignment had left African Cargo at JKIA on its way to a warehouse in Eastleigh when the incident happened.

According to the DCI, the suspects waylaid the lorry, an Isuzu FRR Registration Number KBZ 628X, before diverting it from its designated route.

The lorry would later be found abandoned along Masai Road with all the cargo, packed in 750 cartons, stolen.

Four suspects, namely Mwangangi Kyalo, Jacob Waithaka, Patrick Irungu and Newton Mwenda, all aged between 35 and 45 years, have since been arrested by detectives in Nairobi in connection with the highway theft.

After interrogations, the four suspects led detectives to a court at Muimara Estate, Imara Daima where some of the stolen cargo was kept.

Out of the consignment of 750 cartons, only 629 were found. 121 others were missing and efforts to recover them are still ongoing, the DCI said.

Meanwhile, the driver of the truck, Daniel Kivuti aged 40 years, has gone into hiding. Mr Kivuti has been ordered to surrender to the nearest police station.

The daring theft brings to the fore the risk traders face when transporting goods across the country.

Electronics, including smartphones and laptops, are particularly vulnerable to theft.

In 2018, police in Nairobi arrested seven suspects and recovered more than 700 laptops that had been stolen from a city trader.

The laptops, valued at Sh320 million, were obtained from businessman Stephen Musyoka.

Two government vehicles believed to have been used by the suspects were also impounded during the incident.