Police have detained five people; they are thought to be members of the same gang that stole nearly Ksh. Three million from a businessman two weeks ago when they broke into his car in Nairobi's South C neighborhood.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the five suspects broke through the car window with a catapult and fled with a bag containing Ksh. 900,000 and an additional USD 15,000 (roughly Ksh. 2 million).
The five are Shaban Rashid Maingi, Jane Mueni, Vincent Raguma, Paul Mukungi, and Charles Nzomo.
The businessman's KCB, DTB, and Gulf African Bank ATM cards, a national ID card, an intelligent driver's license, and work-related documents are also said to have been taken by them.
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Later, he got a message explaining that someone had taken Ksh—forty thousand out of his DTB and KCB accounts using an ATM in Nairobi's Embakasi neighborhood.
The Nairobi region Crime Research team and the Operations Unit responded to the man's report of the incident by launching a forensic-led investigation. They were able to apprehend the five suspects after tracking Nzomo's car to Tsavo Gardens, where they also recovered the victim's KCB ATM card and a catapult that was purportedly used to break into the car.
The DCI said that Nzomo was seen using a catapult to smash the car window, Mukungu and Raguma were on duty, Mueni was keeping an eye on the victim, and Maingi had parked a getaway Mazda Demio outside. These details were based on CCTV footage from where the man had parked the car.
The victim parked his BMW X1 car along Muhoho Road, across from Rubis Police Station, to visit an auto parts store. He then reported the incident to Akila Police Station in Lang'ata.
In less than five minutes, the suspects broke through the rear window and stole a bag containing the money.
The DCI claims that the suspects are thought to be connected to an additional four suspects who were detained on February 16 of last year following multiple reports of car break-ins in the same area using the same tools.
The five suspects are being held at the DCI Lang'ata offices ahead of their arraignment after the Easter break.
A second car is being sought after, and efforts are also being made to capture Rodgers Ndung'u, the sixth suspect, who is thought to have escaped to Mombasa.
