By CYRUS OMBATI
Nairobi, Kenya: Police are looking for a gang that raided a petrol station along Kimathi Street in the city and stole 23 gas cylinders.
The gang, armed with assorted weapons, loaded the cylinders into a waiting vehicle before they drove off yesterday morning.
Nairobi police boss Benson Kibue said they are questioning guards who were on duty when the incident happened. “They say they had forgotten to lock where the cylinders are usually kept before the robbery happened,” said Kibue.
Cases of theft of gas cylinders are on the rise in the city with at least one petrol station being attacked weekly. Police have raised the alarm over the rising incidents.
In the last year alone, police statistics show that up to ten petrol stations have been attacked and robbed of close to 200 cylinders.
“Definitely there is a market that these gangs are delivering and that is part of our focus of investigation for now. We are pursuing good leads into that,” said Kibue.
No arrest has been made so far.
Thieves stole more than 1,000 empty LPG cylinders — 365 13kg cylinders, another 882 6kg cylinders and various motor vehicle parts when they raided East Africa Spectre Limited in Nairobi’s Industrial Area on March 31, 2013 at night.
The cylinders were later recovered in a church in Lukenya, Athi River.
