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Two Mombasa traders charged over 'disappearance' of goods worth Sh6.5 million
Mr Waseem Mohammed (left) and John Mutinda appear in a Mombasa court where they were charged with loss of goods worth Sh6.5 million. The goods were to be delivered to traders in Muranga, Bungoma and Siaya counties.
A transporter and a sales manager have been charged over the disappearance of goods worth Sh6.5 million that were being transported to Siaya, Bungoma and Muranga counties.
Mr Waseem Mohamed Ladha and Mr John Mutinda are alleged to have conspired and diverted various goods meant for delivery to various wholesalers in the three counties.
The two were on Friday arraigned in a Mombasa court on charges of stealing various goods, including bags of rice.
According to the charge sheet, the two stole the goods, which were the property of Naushad Trading Company Limited and Mvita Oils Ltd, whose director is Mr Irfan Virji.
They are accused of stealing various goods valued at Sh6.5 million on different dates between April 27 and 29 at Kikambala, Kilifi County and Mvita in Mombasa.
The court heard that in April this year, the two companies received orders to supply assorted goods to their clients in the three counties.
The companies then contracted Speedline Transporters, owned by Mr Mohamed, to deliver the goods to Wholesaler Company (Siaya), New Adatia Wholesalers Ltd (Bungoma), Farmwise Wholesalers (Muranga) and Goodmart Wholesalers in Luanda.
To qualify for the tender, the transporter's vehicle had to have a working speed governor, a vehicle tracker and other details that would enable the company to monitor the delivery of the goods to its customers.
The haulier then loaded the various goods onto his four trailers, ready for delivery. However, police investigations revealed that after the goods were loaded onto the trucks and left the company's premises in Kikambala and Mvita, not a single driver could be traced using the information provided by the transporter.
The trucks also disappeared, but investigations indicate that they did not pass through Mariakani.
Further investigations also indicate that Mr Mutinda, the company's sales manager failed to record important details that would have enabled the company to trace the drivers and their vehicles.
According to the police, the company's rules stated that the sales manager should record the details of the drivers and pass them on to his customers (wholesalers).
Mr Mohamed was subsequently arrested and interrogated, but he allegedly refused to provide the details of the drivers. The investigation revealed that during the interrogation, Mr Mohamed casually told the complainant in the case, Mr Virji, to pursue his loss with the insurance company instead of reporting the matter to the police.
At the time of his arrest, the investigation revealed that Mr Mohamed had not reported the missing trucks to any police station. The police believe that both the transporter and the sales manager had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to steal the goods.
Investigations also revealed that some customers who had ordered the goods had offered alternative transport to deliver their goods, but the sales manager rejected the idea.
The investigation revealed that only two of the four trucks were found abandoned in Mariakani, with the goods previously loaded on them missing.
The police have forwarded the details of the trucks to the National Transport Safety Authority for confirmation, while the details of the transport company have been forwarded to the Registrar of Companies.
However, Mr Mohamed and Mr Mutinda denied the charges when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku.
They were released on a bond of Sh2 million each, with one surety of a similar amount.
Mr Mohamed is also facing a similar case in another court in Mombasa, where he is accused of stealing 500 bags of 25 kilograms of Bulmex Pakistan rice worth Sh1.2 million. He is alleged to have stolen the goods from Mr Mohammed Isaac at Shimanzi Rise Go-down on May 23.
The case will be heard on 19 June.
