500 stolen phones recovered as DCI busts Kisii repair shop theft syndicate

Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has busted a phone theft and hacking racket in Kisii town.

The mobile phones syndicate was operating under the guise of a phone repair business.

The racket was cracked open in the town, after detectives from DCI Kisii Central teamed up with fraud investigators from Mogo Auto Ltd.

Two suspects were arrested and have been accused of stealing and unlawfully unlocking financed mobile devices.

The team raided a phone repair shop at Market Plaza, arresting the suspects, identified as Duncan Ontita Anyaga and Phares Nyagaka Luke, off guard.

What they unearthed inside painted the picture of a sophisticated operation.

Detectives recovered over 500 assorted mobile phones and motherboards hidden away in the shop.

Among them were several Mogo-financed Tecno KM4 handsets that had earlier been reported missing, stripped of their security locks and readied for resale.

The two suspects are currently in custody undergoing processing as detectives finalise investigations ahead of their arraignment.

DCI has vowed to dismantle fraud networks targeting financed mobile phones, working closely with partners to disrupt the theft, unlawful unlocking and illegal resale of the electronic devices and bringing suspects to face criminal charges.

Elsewhere, Police in Isinya, Kajiado County, have recovered government stores and copper wire following a well-coordinated operation.

Acting on actionable intelligence, officers rushed to the suspects' hideout in Majengo Estate, where they were reportedly burning copper wire to strip off its insulation.

But before officers could close in, the suspects vanished.

A subsequent search of one of the houses associated with the suspects yielded an assortment of Administration Police uniforms, including a beret, shirt, jungle jacket, trousers and a maroon belt.

Other items recovered included pliers, tin snips, solar equipment and copper wire, among other assorted items.

The hunt for the suspects remains active.