Eighteen arrested in Eastleigh while trying to steal cargo

DCI detectives have arrested 18 suspects at a godown in Eastleigh, Nairobi after they were ambushed while offloading a consignment of fabrics allegedly on transit from the port of Mombasa to DRC.

The arrest effected on Monday evening, followed days of surveillance by the DCI's Operation Support Unit (OSU), who have been trailing a suspected ring of organized criminals involved in tax fraud by falsely declaring goods as exports but later diverting them into local markets.

According to the DCI, the trailer carrying the consignment  was spotted changing its original registration plates at the Machakos Junction, and at the same time tampered with the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) before proceeding with the journey towards Nairobi.

After several stops, police say, the trailer proceeded with the journey to Mai Mahiu, where the driver assisted by another person decorated the truck with some stickers to further conceal the identity of the trailer.

"The vehicle then took a turn to Nairobi's Eastleigh area at the KBS parking yard where it was opened and the offloading started before detectives struck rounding up the 18, including Meshack Leo (driver) and two store owners, Yusuf Mohammed Noor and Abdi Nasir Dur," said the DCI in a post on X.

The investigations agency says they've established that the same syndicate has been under investigation by DCI and KRA Investigations Department whereby it previously diverted five trucks with the same type of consignment and consignee/importer, one Kasdama Kasongo Francois of the DRC.

"It is also believed that the suspects are part of a wider criminal web that has been diverting goods on transit, having mastered the art of compromising RECTS officers manning the trackers and those deployed on the transit corridor to respond in case of an alert on interference of the RECTS seal," reads the post.