Suspect arrested as Ksh.10M shipment stolen in Mombasa recovered in Nairobi

Police in Nairobi have arrested a suspect accused of stealing a container with goods valued at over Ksh.10 million in Mombasa.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday said the shipment containing assorted cooking appliances which had been stolen while on transit from the port of Mombasa to Malindi, was intercepted at Saika area off Kangundo Road in Embakasi.

The suspect, Francis Victor Karua Gathii, was nabbed by a contingent of sleuths from Nairobi’s Elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau and others from Kilindini.

“Assorted cooking appliances that had been stolen while on transit from the port of Mombasa to Malindi, have today been recovered at Saika area within Nairobi County, by a joint team of detectives drawn from Nairobi and Kilindini,” read the DCI statement.

The DCI further revealed that the container might have been diverted by the driver with the aid of other accomplices who claimed that the truck had developed mechanical problems en route to Malindi.

After the recipient of the goods lost contact with the truck, DCI said, the consignee reported the matter at Kilindini Police Station and a probe was launched.

“The container with the goods worth over Sh10 Million is suspected to have been diverted by the driver who in collaboration with others failed to deliver the goods to the intended recipient, claiming that the truck had developed mechanical problems at Kikambala, along the busy Mombasa-Malindi highway,” DCI noted. 

“It is after the consignee made a report at Kilindini Police Station when investigations regarding the disappearance commenced, leading to the recovery of the shipment in Saika off Kangundo road.”

The suspect is currently being detained awaiting arraignment.