from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – KENYAN police have dismantled a criminal network allegedly run by a syndicate blamed for rampant mobile phone theft in the country.
The syndicate is allegedly behind street robberies and the illegal trade in stolen mobile devices. It is also implicated in the illicit cross-border gadgets market.
The National Police Service (NPS) stated that, through the breakthrough, it was sustaining a crackdown on the illegal mobile phone market in the restive East African country.
The NPS reported that on Tuesday, acting on intelligence, a team of officers from Kayole Police Station in Nairobi conducted an operation in the Nyaura area, leading to the arrest of four suspects.
Among them was a man believed to be a key receiver of mobile phones stolen by street snatchers, alongside three other suspects linked to a series of phone-snatching incidents.
A search operation resulted in the recovery of 132 assorted mobile phones, motherboards and two laptops believed to be connected to the illicit operation.
“The operation underscores the National Police Service’s unwavering commitment to dismantling criminal enterprises that thrive on stolen property and protecting members of the public from opportunistic crime,” the organisation stated.
The NPS added that investigations remained ongoing as officers pursued all individuals linked to the syndicate.
Members of the public have been urged to report suspicious activities to complement law enforcement efforts.
In Kenya, investigations and operations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the NPS have revealed that street-level phone snatchings form part of a massive and sophisticated network operating across East Africa.
According to the Institute for Security Studies, syndicates exploit the absence of shared cross-border databases, as Kenyan telecommunications operators block stolen devices domestically through blacklists.
Devices stolen in Kenya reportedly find ready markets in neighbouring countries where Kenyan network restrictions do not apply.
INTERPOL has been quoted as actively advocating for a centralised East African stolen-phone registry to curb the illegal cross-border trade.
– CAJ News