According to the DCI, the arrested suspects are part of a highly organized syndicate comprising technicians and engineers who target electricity connection sites and power lines and are responsible for plunging parts of the country into darkness.
"In this case, the masterminds of the syndicate deployed a crane truck that loaded and ferried the materials from the site to a yard in Nairobi, leaving residents who were expecting to have their villages connected to power disappointed," the DCI said.
In an operation conducted by sleuths from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, Anasi was arrested in Kayole while Kagwi was seized in Thika.
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that Kagwi is well connected to engineers and technicians working at KPLC, who provide him with information on the sites where electricity connection is ongoing before the equipment disappears," the DCI said.
The crane truck used to load and ferry the materials was impounded and it is currently detained at Kayole police station. Also recovered were some of the stolen cables and metal rods that find their way to the black market.
The arrest of the two suspects comes barely three weeks after President Uhuru Kenyatta banned dealings in scrap metal due to increased cases of vandalism targeting critical national infrastructure.
Last November, operations along the busy Mombasa-Nairobi Standard gauge railway (SGR) had to be stopped for two hours after gauge blocks were vandalized from the line.
Meanwhile, the two suspects are currently being grilled by detectives as the operation to net more suspects continues.
