Police unearth motorcycle theft syndicate

By Roselyne Obala

Police in Kakamega have unearthed a motorcycle theft syndicate after they arrested seven suspects and recovered six stolen motorbikes.

The cartel is suspected to be operating in different parts of the country.

Kakamega OCPD Joseph Omijah has now called on security agents to be extra vigilant while inspecting motorcycles within their regions.

At the same, Mr Omijah urged the local authorities to register motorcycles operating in their areas of jurisdiction to enable them easily identify unfamiliar ones.

“We arrested four riders, two owners and a manager. We are pursuing the two buyers who are still at large,” Omijah stated.

He said the alleged manager upon interrogation revealed that the owner of the motorcycles was in Nairobi.

“We are liaising with our colleagues in Nairobi to get hold of the alleged owner as we intensify our investigation,” Omijah added.

He said the local council should register and allocate stages for motorcycles and mark them in alphabetical order.

“It will be easy to track any motorcycle and its rider,” he said.

Omijah explained that police mounted an operation within Kakamega town following a tip off and recovered six out of the eight bikes stolen from Nairobi.

“We are yet to find the two remaining bikes, which had already been sold,” he said.

Omijah noted that the number plates of the bikes had been altered to disguise identity.

number plates

“They are taking advantage of the small size of the number plates to change them to fit their intended purposes,” he said.

Omijah said they have called in Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to verify the actual number plates and chassis numbers.

“We want to ascertain the right registration numbers and track the original owners to establish where they were stolen from and in what manner,” he added.

He said the suspects will be charged with appropriate offences once investigation is complete or they might move the cases to areas where the offences were committed.

Omijah appealed to the public to be alert and to verify all documents before purchasing any motorbike.