By GEOFREY KASERA: Sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) Nyanza Region, alongside their counterparts from Kisumu East Sub-County, have cracked down on a violent robbery syndicate operating across Kisumu and its environs.

The operation followed a harrowing midnight robbery with violence incident where a three-man gang, armed with pangas, heavy metal bars, and a firearm, forced their way into a residential home.

Unbeknownst to the intruders, high-definition CCTV cameras captured the entire intrusion live, recording clear frames of the armed men terrorizing the household and looting high-value electronics.

Guided by frame-by-frame CCTV analysis and local intelligence, detectives tracked the trail to the Kisumu Rotary College area, where they pounced on 31-year-old Reagan Otieno Silvester.

Reagan was positively identified as the exact suspect captured on video hauling out the victim’s 55-inch Hisense television.

Upon being cornered and subjected to interrogation, Reagan crumbled and led officers to a hideout in the Rabour area within Kadibo Sub-County, where his co-accused and alleged gang mastermind, Mohamed Ramadhan, alias “Moha,” was hiding.

Narrow escape

As the police team breached the Rabour location, Mohamed Ramadhan spotted the dragnet, made a desperate dash, and managed to jump over a perimeter wall, narrowly escaping into the surrounding neighborhood.

Despite Moha’s escape, detectives apprehended two other associates found at the scene, 34-year-old Christopher Onyango Okoth and 28-year-old Fidel Omondi Were.

A thorough search of the Rabour hideout yielded heavy break-in implements suspected to have been used to access victims’ houses, alongside several rolls of cannabis sativa.

The investigative team extended their search grid to Mohamed Ramadhan’s rented house in the Nyang’ande area.

Search and recovery

Hidden beneath a bed in Moha’s room, officers uncovered a toy pump gun meticulously crafted to resemble a real pistol, the weapon believed to have been used to intimidate victims during raids, along with a collection of SIM cards.

Detectives further searched Reagan Otieno’s rented house in the same vicinity, uncovering various items suspected to have been stolen.

Among the recovered property was a damning piece of evidence, a National Identification Card belonging to Steve Biko Omondi.

Steve Biko was a victim of a violent robbery who was attacked and robbed of valuable items, including a 55-inch television set.

The recovery directly linked Reagan and his cohort to the crime.

Following processing at the scenes, the three arrested suspects, Reagan Otieno, Christopher Onyango, and Fidel Omondi, were escorted to Kasagam Police Station and placed in cells, while all recovered tools and stolen items were secured in the exhibits store.

DCI officers have since intensified their manhunt for the fleeing fugitive, Mohamed Ramadhan.