DCI Pounce On Gang Using 'Catapults' To Rob Parked Cars In Nairobi

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based in the Nairobi region have arrested a gang of five suspected to have stolen millions of shillings from parked cars they had broken into in the city.

DCI revealed in a statement on Friday, March 29 that the arrest was part of a stealth operation launched to bring to an end the era of city thugs dreaded for stealing from locked motor vehicles.

The five were revealed to have stolen Ksh900,000 and another USD 15,000 (Ksh1.9 million) from a businessman based in Nairobi's South C area two weeks ago. 

Collage of tools used to break into parked cars in Nairobi used by the suspects. /DCI

"The distressed victim who reported at Akila Police Station in Lang'ata indicated that he had just parked his BMW X1 along Muhoho Road opposite Rubis Petrol Station and entered an auto parts shop when the felons struck.

"He had gone back to his car less than five minutes later, only to find a smashed rear window and a missing bag that contained the money," stated the DCI in part.

Also missing were three of his bank ATM cards, his national ID card, his smart driving license and assorted job-related documents.

Later that evening, the victim received a message alert indicating that Ksh40,000 had been withdrawn from one of his bank accounts and another Ksh40,000 from the other bank account at an ATM in Embakasi.

In response, the Nairobi region Crime Research team initiated a forensic-led trail on the suspects.

Backed up by the Operations Unit, the detectives nabbed the first suspect who was captured by a nearby CCTV breaking into the motor vehicle.

The footage also captured two other suspects keeping watch as the lead suspect employed his childhood skills in hunting with a catapult to smash the car window.

All this time, another female suspect was busy stalking the victim, as a fifth waited in a getaway Mazda Demio fitted with registration plates belonging to a Subaru car.

"One after another, the suspects were rounded up last night before the spy vehicle belonging to the first suspect was traced to Tsavo Gardens. In it were found the victim's ATM card and car-breaking tools including a catapult," added the DCI.

The five suspects were escorted to DCI Lang'ata offices where they were booked for the long weekend. Efforts are in place to recover a second motor vehicle and trace and arrest a sixth accomplice who fled to Mombasa.

Detectives believe that the syndicate is linked to another four suspects who were arrested on February 16 2023 after a series of car breakings using the same tools of trade still in South C, Nairobi.