Police officers based in Nyeri County have recovered over 417 assorted smartphones after pinning down two phone snatchers.
According to a statement from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), police arrested two suspects caught snatching phones from shoppers in the county.
Subsequently, detectives handling the case interrogated the suspects leading to the discovery of an accomplice believed to be at the end of the phone snatching chain.
As per the statement, detectives ambushed a business space in the area operated by one David Thinwa who runs a phone repair shop.
“John Kariuki and James Thuita (suspects) were nabbed on November 1, 2023, before detectives proceeded to Gatitu shopping center where their accomplice David Thinwa Ngatia who operated a mobile phones repair shop was ambushed and the recoveries made,” the report read.
Besides the phones, the officers also discovered two television sets, three laptops, two cameras and 47 sim cards.
The three, according to DCI, were arrested and held by police officers for processing and investigations.
Also Read: DCI Arrest Daring Sim Swap Suspect
Police warn about pick pocketers interested in phones
DCI stated that cases of phone snatching had been on the rise in the area with several cases of pick pocketers interested in mobile phones reported.
However, the Nyeri Security command assured that efforts to curtail the alarming trend were underway and vowed to take action against cartels behind phone snatching cases.
Concerns about phone snatching are also common in other parts of the country especially in urban centers.
Within Nairobi- for example, parts of the CBD have been declared as hotspots for smugglers and phone snatchers.
Phone snatching hotspots in the city
Among the areas previously pinpointed as hotspots include the usually busy Ronald Ngala Street which is usually congested. Other areas include Tom Mboya Street, Globe Roundabout, and Ngara area.
In a city where roadside hawkers have invaded streets in downtown Nairobi, snatchers take advantage of the congestion to pick pocket unsuspecting members of the public.
Also Read: DCI Recover 156 Stolen Mobile Phones, TVs in Eldoret
Even passengers traveling in public transport vehicles are not immune to cases of phone snatching.
In what appears to be carefully crafted techniques, snatchers track vehicles in traffic jams in the city hoping to pounce on passengers using phones while close to the windows.
What’s more, in a split second, as reported by previous victims, the miscreants open the window, snatch the phone from the passenger’s hands and take flight to hide in the crowd.
Also, in October, DCI announced several recoveries of mobile phones believed to have been stolen in various countries.
On October 25, for instance, the DCI announced that it had recovered 145 mobile phones and arrested eleven suspects in connection with a phone robbery syndicate.
