Police in Nakuru are holding 27 people linked to a spate of robberies that have rocked the county in recent days.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the youth aged between 19 and 30 were arrested on Saturday night.
Five of the suspects identified as Moses Njoe, 21, Thomas Nguruna, 19, Evans Napati, 21, Sammy Sunguya, 23, and Emmanuel Tein, 20 were picked up by officers attached to Rhonda police station, shortly after allegedly staging an attack in Jasho area, Nakuru West sub county.
“The five were cornered after Inspector Anunda, who was leading the operation fired a round in the air from his AK-47 assault rifle, warning the thugs to surrender or have themselves to blame,” DCI said in a statement.
A cache of crude weapons including machetes, clubs, swords, metal rods and pieces of wood were recovered from the suspects.
Police also managed to recover assorted SIM cars and identification documents believed to have been stolen from city residents.
The rest of the suspects, DCI said, were corned in a separate operation in Mawanga area.
The George Kinoti-led directorate urged the remaining thugs to surrender or face dire consequences.
“Detectives are warning the remaining thugs to surrender within 24 hours, before a specialized team of sleuths from DCI headquarters is deployed to annihilate the miscreants once and for all,” DCI added.
“They are encouraged to learn from the fate that befell the Katombi gang, which operated with impunity in Mathare, Huruma and Pangani areas before finally being wiped out.”
Gang targeting women in Nakuru
The arrests follow an operation ordered by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to flush out gangs terrorising female residents in the city.
“We talked to Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai, and police officers based in Nakuru. We have already placed enough measures to flush out this gang,” the CS said in Nakuru.
According to multiple media reports, the gang sexually assault young women and kill them by strangulation before burning their bodies to conceal evidence.
