Police probe how thugs stole Sh6.2m alcohol and equipment from new nightclub

Police are investigating a violent robbery in which thugs stole electronics and alcoholic drinks worth Sh6.2 million from a club in Nairobi's Industrial Area after tying up a security guard at the scene.

The new club was due to open on January 24 but lost everything after the thugs broke in on the night of January 10 and stole almost everything including CCTV cameras and servers.

One of the club's security guards had his hands and feet tied and his mouth covered with a polythene bag before being locked in a dark room, where he remained during the robbery, which lasted more than two hours. He was rescued by the police, who arrived long after the robbery. 

The mastermind of the robbery, who hired a truck to transport the items, is at large, but two suspects of the more than five men he hired for the job are in custody at South B Police Station.

They are Eric Mwangi and Timothy Ng'ang'a, who allegedly took part in the robbery near Balozi police station in South B.

The third suspect in custody is Duncan Oluoch, who was found to have been in constant communication with the suspected robbery mastermind.

Police say Mwangi and Ng'ang'a were involved in the robbery, which lasted more than two hours.

Corporal Horace Arwa of South B police station applied to the Makadara Magistrate's Court to have them remanded for 14 days pending investigations.

Their accomplices, including two club security guards, are also at large.

The guards, who allegedly assisted in the robbery, took off their uniforms and dumped them before going into hiding and are still being sought by the police.

One of the guards was found tied with his shoelaces on his hands and a sweater string on his legs. The guards' uniforms were collected by the police as evidence in the case.

Tied his arms and legs

"They captured one of the security guards, assaulted him, tied his arms and legs, tied his mouth with polythene paper, put him in a dark room and further threatened to kill him if he raised any alarm," Corporal Horace Arwa of South B Police Station stated in an affidavit filed at the Makadara Law Courts. 

"The assailants in collaboration with two other security guards then went on the rampage where they broke into the main office, store and garage and made away with various goods estimated to be worth Sh6.2 million." The orders were issued by Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Wahito Mwangi.

Officers from South B Police Station traced the lorry used by the suspects to transport the items to Kariobangi in Nairobi and arrested a turn boy who was still inside. The driver escaped during the arrest.

The turn boy is among the two in custody and Cpl. Arwa told the court that he was investigating a case of robbery with violence.

The turn boy took police to where they had dropped the items in Bahati Estate in Nairobi's Eastlands area, where they had used a hired truck to dump them, but nothing was recovered.

Police have learned that the items were loaded onto another lorry and taken away after the group that delivered them left and taken to another location to ensure that those involved in the theft do not know where they were taken and those who collected them from the site do not know where they were taken from.

The mastermind of the robbery who hired the truck for Sh30,000 has been identified and police sources say he is on their radar.

The man narrowly escaped the police dragnet after fleeing his home minutes before the officers arrived, but police say his movements are being closely monitored, adding that it is only a matter of time before he is arrested.

He received over Sh400,000 on the night of the robbery and police say this is an indication that he had a ready market for the items and started selling them the same night.

Cpl. Arwa said he has yet to take a statement from the security guard who was assaulted during the robbery and obtain his medical reports and P3 form.