Police recover Sh9.1million linked to Quickmart heist

Police recover Sh9.1 million of the Sh94 million stolen from Quickmart Supermarket in a heist involving two Wells Fargo staffers. [iStock]

Police say they have recovered Sh9.1 million of the Sh94 million that was stolen from Quickmart Supermarket in a heist involving two Wells Fargo staffers last week.

They have also arrested a taxi driver who is suspected to have helped the suspects escape with the cash.

The taxi driver, whose name has not been revealed, was nabbed on Saturday in Ruiru, Kiambu County, after police traced the car he used to ferry the suspects from South C, Nairobi.

Police said the car was in the process of being repainted and fitted with new number plates to conceal its identity.

CCTV footage showed that the car had picked up the suspects from Dafarm in South C, Langata, shortly after they had abandoned the Isuzu Canter that was carrying the money.

The Isuzu Canter, with registration number KBA 517 T, was supposed to deliver the money to Family Bank, Kenyatta Avenue, on behalf of Quickmart Supermarket on Monday morning.

However, the two Wells Fargo employees, Daniel Mungai and Anthony Nduiki, sneaked out without a police escort and vanished with the cash.

The incident was reported by George Jaramba, the Investigation Manager at Wells Fargo Nairobi, at 7.09am on Monday. He said the suspects had collected the money from the Wells Fargo vault as usual, but did not follow the standard procedure of having armed police officers accompany them.

The police officers who were supposed to escort them raised the alarm when they did not see the vehicle.

DCI boss Mohammed Amin has already published the names of the two missing men, a crew commander and his driver. He said he has formed a special team to hunt for the staff and recover the cash

Detectives from the elite Operation Support Unit (OSU) based at the DCI headquarters, together with officers from the Nairobi area Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, have been tasked to hunt for the missing suspects.