Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested two suspects and recovered more than 900 stolen mobile phones in an operation conducted in Nairobi CBD.
In a statement on Monday, January 26, the DCI said the operation was intelligence-led and forms part of broader efforts to dismantle organized criminal networks involved in cross-border crime.
"A team of Detectives from Nairobi Central Sub-County has apprehended two individuals linked to an inter-country phone theft syndicate, recovering a consignment of over 900 stolen mobile phones.
"Acting on solid intelligence, the team orchestrated a meticulously planned operation in Nairobi's bustling Central Business District, along Charles Rubia Street, near the busy Buscar bus stage. There, they intercepted two packages destined for Uganda, which turned out to be treasure troves of illicit cargo," the statement read.
According to investigators, the true extent of the operation became clear once the intercepted packages were opened.
Read More
"Upon opening the packages, the officers were greeted by a shocking sight: an assortment of stolen mobile phones, numbering approximately 900," the statement added.
The DCI further revealed that early findings point to the suspects being part of a wider criminal network that steals phones locally and traffics them across borders.
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the two suspects, who were unable to provide a satisfactory account for the mobile phones in their possession, are part of a larger phone theft syndicate, involved in stealing phones from innocent members of the public, as well as from mobile phone shops, and selling them in neighbouring countries," the statement continued.
Authorities identified the two suspects as Brian Yomasia and Stephen Okwachi, and detailed the immediate steps taken after their arrest.
"The suspects, Brian Yomasia and Stephen Okwachi Shisia, were nabbed on the spot and, along with the trove of stolen devices, swiftly escorted to the Nairobi Central Police Station, where they are currently undergoing processing pending arraignment," the statement further read.
The DCI also noted that the latest recovery comes just days after another successful operation targeting phone theft in the city.
"This significant recovery follows closely on the heels of another successful raid on January 24, 2026, where over 150 stolen mobile phones were recovered," the statement concluded.
This comes days after DCI detectives arrested two suspected drug peddlers and recovered heroin worth Ksh4 million.
In a statement on Friday, January 23, DCI said the two suspects were nabbed in Utange, Mombasa, following a coordinated raid.
According to the DCI, detectives drawn from the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU), the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU), assisted by police officers from Kiembeni Police Station, stormed a residential house hidden behind a towering perimeter wall in the Barawa area, Kisauni Sub-County.
"The long arm of the law has caught up with two drug peddlers after hawk-eyed detectives swooped in and netted heroin worth over Sh4 million in Utange, Mombasa County.
"In a coordinated raid, officers drawn from the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU), the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) and Kiembeni Police Station arrested Tawaida Ali Said and Shamim Abubakar, bringing their alleged trade to a halt," read the statement.
The officers searched the house and uncovered several neatly packed sachets of heroin stashed inside two bedrooms.
A further search of the compound uncovered an additional package of heroin buried in a corner, seemingly hidden to evade detection from law enforcement officers.
"By the end of the operation, officers had recovered 1,346 grams of heroin with an estimated street value of Ksh4,092,000, alongside a digital weighing machine and a drying machine, evidence of a well-oiled illicit business," the statement added.
-1769418151.png)