Police have launched investigations into a series of robberies targeting businesspeople in Narok and Mombasa counties, in which millions of shillings were stolen over the weekend.
In the latest incident, a businessman was robbed of Sh900,000 in Narok Town, marking the second such case reported within days and prompting intensified police operations against suspected criminal gangs.
According to police, the Narok incident occurred on Friday afternoon after the victim travelled from Nairobi, where he had withdrawn the money from a bank, to Narok for a construction project. He was carrying the cash in a brown envelope.
On arrival in Narok Town, the businessman parked his Probox vehicle in the Muthurwa area and walked to the construction site. About 30 minutes later, he returned to find the car had been broken into and the envelope containing the Sh900,000, as well as a mobile phone, stolen.
Police officers visited the scene and began investigations, with detectives suspecting the thieves may have had prior information about the movement of the cash. A manhunt for the suspects continued on Saturday, with officers reviewing CCTV footage from nearby premises in an effort to identify those behind the robbery.
In a separate incident in Nyali, Mombasa County, another businessman was robbed of Sh835,000 under similar circumstances. Police said the victim had withdrawn Sh635,000 from one bank and an additional Sh200,000 from a different bank before being targeted.
The robbery reportedly occurred on January 10 at around 1 pm. Investigators believe the suspects trailed the businessman from the banks to a premises where he had parked his car and stepped out to run errands. The gang then broke into the vehicle, stole the cash and fled.
Police said they are reviewing security camera footage that may have captured the crime and could help identify the suspects. Investigators noted that many such incidents are often linked to inside jobs, based on past cases.
Meanwhile, in Ganjoni, Mombasa County, police are investigating a housebreaking incident in which a woman lost Sh600,000 in cash and jewellery valued at approximately Sh500,000. The woman told police she had locked her house before leaving for work, only to return and find it broken into and the valuables missing.
Police visited the scene and said investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. On Monday, police said they were pursuing what they described as strong leads in the cases as efforts to dismantle the suspected criminal networks continue.
