The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has recovered a powerful automatic rifle and arrested five suspects, including a police officer, believed to be behind a series of armed robberies and arson attacks that have plagued parts of Meru County over the past two months.
The police officer, Corporal Dominic Munene Peter, a firearms repair specialist based at the Marsabit County police headquarters, is suspected of collaborating with the criminals by aiding their operations. Detectives believe the officer, who is originally from the area, frequently travelled back to coordinate the robberies and replenish ammunition supplies.
Meru County Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer Samuel Bett revealed that the main suspect, 35-year-old Patrick Muriera M’Mbijiwe, a boda boda operator, led officers to a remote farm where they recovered an M16 rifle. The operation was conducted by a team of elite officers from the DCI Headquarters’ Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), the Operation Support Unit (OSU), and the Operation Action Team (OAT), who joined local detectives in response to a wave of armed robberies in Imenti Central and Buuri West sub-counties since August.
The joint operation, led by Bett and Nairobi’s CRIB team, also apprehended Kenneth Muthethia Kiriinya, alias Kiroria. Officers recovered an M16 (SAR) rifle, two magazines, 67 rounds of 5.5mm ammunition, a black jacket, two gunny bags, and a brown Marvin, all hidden in a hole on a farm in Kianjuri village.
The five suspects were taken to court, where the police requested additional time to complete their investigations. “These individuals are believed to be the masterminds behind a string of violent robberies in Imenti North and Buuri West sub-counties, where they have terrorized the local community,” Bett said in a statement on Wednesday.
