Police have recovered 418 bags of rice stolen on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, while being transported from Mombasa to Nairobi.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, said that they only managed to recover 418 bags out of 522 bags stolen on the fateful night.
“Detectives in Kibwezi have recovered 418 bags of rice out of the 522 that were last night stolen while en route to Nairobi from Mombasa, when the transporting lorry was intercepted and commandeered by a five-man gang at Thange area,” DCI said.
The incident occurred at 2:30 am when a five-man gang intercepted an Isuzu FRR lorry at the Thange area.
Detectives said the 46-year-old driver had slowed down at a bumpy section of the road, behind another slow-moving trailer, when the gang emerged and gained entry into the driver’s cabin.
“After inspecting to see what he was ferrying, the men assaulted him before tying him up with ropes and throwing him out as they drove off the highway,” the DCI reported.
A motorcyclist from the local community found the driver shivering in the cold and gave him a ride to the Machinery Police Post. The driver reported the ordeal and the theft of 522 bags, each containing 25 kg of rice.
“A motorcyclist, a member of the local community, who found the fear-stricken driver helplessly shivering in the cold, gave him a ride to the Machinery Police Post. This act of support and solidarity, where the driver reported his ordeal and the theft of 522 bags, each containing 25kg of rice, is a testament to the strength of our community policing,” the DCI statement read in part.
DCI said the lorry, minus 106 bags, was found abandoned near Manyanga shopping centre. The vehicle was then driven to Kibwezi Police Station.
The authority said efforts to catch the suspects at large are ongoing.
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