NAIROBI: A Sunday night police pursuit in Nairobi’s Kasarani area ended in the death of a driver and opened a window into what detectives believe is a wider ring trading in stolen electronics.

Kasarani police say patrol officers spotted a Mazda CX-5, registration KDZ 099B, in the Sonic area at about 8:30pm.

Five men were inside, and they were allegedly offloading suspected stolen electronics at a second-hand shop owned by a trader known only as “Pau.”

When the men saw the officers, they reportedly jumped back into the car and drove off, and a chase through the neighbourhood followed.

It ended when the driver, identified as Antony Ochieng Otieno, lost control of the speeding vehicle. The car hit an electric pole and ended up in a deep ditch. Two of his companions fled on foot.

Otieno was rushed to Mama Lucy Hospital with serious injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Scenes of Crime Investigations (CSI) officers searched both the crash site and the shop and recovered: 28 television sets, five home theatre systems, laptops and mobile phones, clothing and shoes, a gas cylinder, a dagger and a crowbar.

Police say the dagger and crowbar suggest the group may have been involved in violent house break-ins.

They also say some of the electronics have already been linked to recent theft reports in the Central Region, which points to a network operating beyond Nairobi.

Kasarani Sub-County Criminal Investigation Officer (DCIO) Aloyce Mboya confirmed Otieno’s death via phone interview.

He said an autopsy is set for Thursday and that investigations into the wider operation are intensifying.

The recovered items are being held at Kasarani Police Station, and the wrecked Mazda is in the station yard.

Detectives are still hunting for the suspects who escaped and for the shop owner, who has not been found.