Detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nakuru County have reined in a notorious phone theft ring arresting three suspects and recovering 294 mobile phones.

County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO) Anthony Sunguti said the trio was nabbed and items recovered in a crackdown conducted by the DCI at Kaptembwo yesterday. 

He noted that they commenced an operation after receiving numerous complaints from members of the public of their phones being snatched in the CBD and other parts of the town.

“We crafted a team that was sent to the field and in the course of conducting their operations they tracked a stolen phone to a house where they recovered the cache,” said Sunguti. 

Huge number of mobile phones

At the house, he said the suspects failed to explain why they were holding the huge number of mobile phones, a laptop and a CPU adding that they intend to prefer charges against the three.

“They alleged that they were repairers however they had no tools for the said work and we also found in their possession a phone alteration software used to flash the IMEI numbers,” said Sunguti. 

According to him, a majority of Nakuru residents who buy second-hand phones from dealers are unaware the same had been stolen saying people need to be careful. 

He called on residents who have lost phones to report to the office and prove ownership before the same is released to them. 

He regretted that there was a surge in mobile phone theft within the county saying to tackle the same they have crafted a special team to handle the same. 

He said the team is keen on establishing hotspots within the county and suppressing the network saying a number of the theft cases are connected to murder incidences. 

“We have undercover officers in every hotspot area within the county and so far, they are doing a good job,” he added. 

On criminal gangs, Sunguti noted they had managed to contain the operations of the Confirmed killer gang by arresting three of their sponsors.