By Robert Mwania
Police officers in Eldoret City have recovered tens of motorcycle parts in an operation targeting a suspected theft syndicate targeting boda boda operators.
The parts were recovered from a house in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, following a multi-agency operation involving officers from the two counties.
Among those recovered are 83 number plates, which the police believe are of motorcycles that were stolen in various parts of the region.
“We went to Kiminini, where we found stolen motorbikes; some are in the form of spare parts we suspect sold to people. We also found eighty-three number plates that are genuine, which means those number plates belong to the motorbikes stolen,” Uasin Gishu County Police Commander Benjamin Mwanthi told journalists.
Mwanthi pointed out that the syndicate had now opted to steal motorbikes and dismantle them before selling the parts separately.
However, they avoid selling engines because they are easily traceable.
Thefts targeting boda boda operators dropping patients in hospitals
According to the police, they swung into action after increased cases of boda boda operators reporting their bikes stolen whenever they drop patients in hospitals.
It seems the target has been boda boda operators from rural areas carrying patients. They wait for them to help a patient into the facility then steal their motorcycle,” the police boss explained.
Four suspects were also arrested in the operations. One of them was arrested trying to steal a motorcycle parked outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital while three others were arrested in a house where the parts were found.
Police are now asking members of the public who might have been victims of the syndicate to come forward and help identify the spare parts.
The latest development comes barely a month after over 50 motorcycles suspected to have been stolen were recovered in a house within the Subaru area on the outskirts of Eldoret City.
