This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
On September 5, robbers in police uniform stole Sh72 million from Standard Chartered bank's Nairobi West branch in a dramatic robbery that police said could have been an inside job.
According to police records, the money was being transported from the G4S headquarters in Industrial Area to Standard Chartered's Nairobi West branch, a distance of about four kilometres.
Three armed men dressed in Administration Police uniforms stole the money as it was being delivered. The money was later withdrawn from an ATM in Nairobi West and part of it was stolen as G4S employees transporting the money readied themselves to remove it from the van to the bank.
On September 16, Police recovered Sh2.3 million more of the Sh72 million. A suspect who had been arrested in Machakos took police to his grandmother’s house in the area where they recovered the cash in new banknotes.
Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit arrested officer Simon Karuku and his wife Caroline Njeri, also an officer, in Thika town. The couple had gone to an advocate with a view to seeking an anticipatory bond in connection with the Nairobi West robbery.
Police say Wangari, a KDF soldier, was left with the money in a bag but had left for burial in Nyahururu. Police later arrested Wangari, Karuku of Kampi Ya Samaki police post and his wife Njeri. They were taken to Lang'ata police station pending investigations.
The Director of Criminal Investigations, George Kinoti, said they are looking for more suspects and hoped to recover more cash from them.
