Four notorious criminals responsible for a spate of armed robberies across Machakos, Mombasa, and Kwale Counties met a fatal end on Monday night after engaging in a relentless shootout with determined detectives in Kilifi County.
Ignoring pleas to surrender peacefully, the audacious gang members decided to challenge the law enforcement officers by firing indiscriminately.
Unbeknownst to the criminals, the astute detectives had been relentlessly pursuing them, honing their skills day by day in preparation for an eventual confrontation and the recovery of a government-issued rifle the gang possessed.
The tranquil coastal creek of Takaungu, situated in Kilifi County, was transformed into a battleground as the elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau, accompanied by marksmen from the DCI Operations branch, responded with remarkable precision to the gang's provocation.
Gunshots pierced the night air, delivering justice and putting an end to the criminals' reign of terror.
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The daring gang, resembling a stray stallion in their impudence, had orchestrated a bank heist at the Matuu branch of Equity Bank in Machakos County on July 27, 2021.
During the heist, they brazenly disarmed a vigilant police officer on guard duty and absconded with her loaded AK-47 rifle bearing the serial number KE KP 5527115. The exact amount of money they stole remains undisclosed.
Since that audacious heist, the miscreants had plunged Kenyans into a state of fear, perpetrating over ten armed robberies with brazen attacks even in broad daylight.
Their primary targets included M-Pesa shops and various business establishments in Mombasa and Kwale counties, instilling a sense of dread among the local populace.
Following a thorough forensic analysis conducted at the DCI National Forensic Lab, investigators successfully linked the lost police firearm to two suspects, tentatively identified as Festus and Tsuma Ndoro.
Subsequently, a team of highly skilled detectives was swiftly assembled to apprehend the criminals.
After weeks of meticulously laying an ambush in Kwale, their dedication finally paid off when the gang made a move, crossing the Likoni channel at approximately 4 p.m.
Undeterred, the detectives discreetly tailed the criminals from the Likoni ferry to Shimanzi, Nyali, and Shariani, closing in on them in Takaungu just moments before midnight.
The gang, en route to Kilifi town to perpetrate further robberies, was abruptly halted by the relentless pursuit of the law enforcement officers.
During the confrontation, the AK-47 assault rifle with the serial number KE KP 5527115, which had been seized from the police officer during the Matuu Equity bank heist, was recovered.
However, it was found to be loaded with only seven rounds of 7.62-x39 calibre ammunition, a testament to the criminals' reckless and depleted state of resources.
Additionally, the two red-coloured motorcycles, a Boxer with the registration number KMFS 631T and a Haogin bearing the registration number KMEF 182P, which were employed by the suspects as getaway vehicles, were impounded by the authorities.
The residents of Machakos, Mombasa, and Kwale Counties can take solace in the fact that these four men, responsible for causing fear and suffering, will no longer pose a threat to their communities.
