Police officers from Murang’a County have recovered 16,905 pineapples stolen from the vast Delmonte farm in Murang’a county.
This follows an operation dubbed Operation Linda Mananasi that has been undertaken for the last two weeks and which has seen more than 50 police officers dispatched to the farm to help guard the fruits.
According to Murang’a county police commander Kainga Mathiu, 222 culprits have been arrested and successfully prosecuted.
Further, police officers have impounded motorbikes and vehicles that were being used by suspects to ferry the fruits from the farm to the market.
Kainga said the security team is ready to offer security to the entire farm saying its vastness poses challenges to the company to guard it, exposing it to theft.
“It is our role to detect and avert crime and we will continue enforcing the law to the best of our capability,” he said during a press briefing at the county police headquarters on Tuesday.
County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha on his part said the suspects nabbed in the operation have been fined Sh3,096,000 collectively after being convicted in court.
“It is not our aim to have the suspects fined but they have generated money for the government,” he said.
Delmonte fruits processing company has more than 22,000 acres of land under farming out of which some 18,000 acres are in Murang’a while the rest are in Kiambu county.
Pineapples reportedly stolen from the farm have been driving a thriving fruit vending business in Kenol, Kabati and Thika town.
With the police officers cutting off thieves from the farm, many hawkers who got the fruits from them have been forced to find alternative sources of income.
