Two cops held over robbery claims in Tharaka Nithi

Two police officers were at the weekend arrested over claims of being involved in a robbery incident in Tharaka Nithi.

The two based at Nkubu police station were arrested after preliminary investigations linked them to an incident where a lorry that was ferrying hardware goods worth Sh600,000 from Isiolo to Tharaka Nithi, on July 13 was blocked at Ura gate area.

The crew said the lorry was blocked by four people who introduced themselves as police officers and claimed that the lorry was ferrying counterfeit products.

The lorry driver Morris Nyaga and his two loaders David Kuyo and Bonface Orito told police they were handcuffed by the officers.

One of the officers was armed with an AK-47 rifle and bundled into the white Toyota fielder that had been used to block the lorry, leaving it in the hands of two strangers who had arrived with the two officers turned suspects.

The vehicle then took off towards Kacibine market in Imenti Central, where the three were later dumped.

After reporting the incident at Kiagu police post, investigations began and it was established that the vehicle involved in the incident, belonged to one of the two cops.

Further investigations revealed that one of the cops was in charge of the armoury on the day of the incident and had issued an AK-47 rifle to his accomplice.

According to police, the two then proceeded for unspecified duties that were not booked at the station raising more suspicion about their whereabouts, when the incident is reported to have occurred.

Detectives based at the forensic crime scene investigations unit and their cybercrime counterparts have since been invited to conduct forensic analysis and net the remaining suspects.

Meanwhile, the lorry which had ferried the goods was found abandoned while empty, indicating that the goods may have been offloaded to another vehicle.

Cases of police being involved in crime have been on the rise amid action from authorities to tame the trend.

Some of the officers are usually charged in courts and sacked.

Meanwhile, a new police station built by President Uhuru Kenyatta, to serve members of the community in Tutua, Buuri subcounty in Meru, was officially opened on Friday.

In a ceremony presided over by the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, the modern police station unveiled replaced a dilapidated wooden structure that has been serving as the area patrol base.

The new station, which has modern features and amenities including facilities for women and children, was constructed following consultations between the local community members and the Director General of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti.

Mutyambai said the new station would now serve members of the public much better, saying a sufficient number of police officers had been posted to the station to effectively manage crime in the area.

Kinoti rallied the community members to work closely with the local security agencies, as the surest way of ensuring that their public safety and security are guaranteed.

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