Police in Nairobi have arrested three suspects and launched a manhunt for four others following an operation that disrupted what investigators believe was an attempted house-breaking mission in the Parklands area.
According to police, the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at Parklands Court Limited when a resident returned home and noticed a suspicious black Nissan X-Trail parked within the compound.
The vehicle, bearing registration number KDK 162E, was occupied by four individuals who reportedly claimed they were delivering a parcel contained in a khaki envelope.
The suspects were accompanied by a security guard attached to a private security firm, prompting the resident to become suspicious and raise the alarm. Police said the resident blocked the vehicle from leaving and alerted security personnel to secure the compound’s gate.
However, the suspects allegedly fled on foot, abandoning the vehicle at the scene before officers from Parklands Police Station arrived and launched a search operation.
During the operation, detectives arrested a woman identified as Lavender Akinyi Ogilo outside the compound. Police allege that she was attempting to leave the area after disguising herself in a Muslim hijab.
Investigators say CCTV footage captured her arriving with the occupants of the abandoned vehicle before she reportedly remained outside the premises while the others entered the compound.
Officers also recovered a headscarf from inside the vehicle, which investigators believe links her to the group.
Police further arrested two security guards, Levis Kirui Chenemai and Dorine Linda Imodia, who are assisting detectives with investigations into the incident and their possible involvement.
A search of the abandoned Nissan X-Trail yielded several items that investigators consider suspicious, including assorted crowbars, motor vehicle ignition keys, screws, a CCTV camera, a surveillance disk, a computer mouse, and a pair of registration plates bearing a different registration number.
Investigators later established that the registration number displayed on the vehicle was allegedly assigned to a Toyota Crown saloon and not the Nissan X-Trail recovered at the scene.
The vehicle has since been towed to Parklands Police Station for further examination as detectives work to identify and apprehend the remaining suspects.
Police said investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the group’s activities and whether the recovered items are connected to other reported criminal incidents within Nairobi.
Authorities commended the vigilance of the resident whose actions helped alert law enforcement to the suspected operation, reiterating the importance of public cooperation in preventing crime.
