Police on Tuesday afternoon arrested five suspects for allegedly ferrying stolen livestock worth over Sh2 million along the Naivasha -Longonot highway.
Nancy Njeri, Philip Karuga, John Mwaura, James Githinji and Peter Cecilia were travelling to Nairobi when detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrested them.
The five suspects are said to have been ferrying sheep stolen from a herder in Mirera, Longonot.
Cases of livestock theft in the country have been on the rise in the recent past.
Barely two weeks ago, another herder lost his livestock estimated to be worth over Sh2.5 million.
According to the DCI, the high demand for meat in Nairobi had led to increasing cases of livestock theft in neighbouring counties.
“Unscrupulous city traders have taken advantage of the growing demand for meat and resorted to stealing livestock from herders in counties neighbouring Nairobi,” DCI said in a tweet.
DCI said the suspected cattle thieves usually sell the stolen livestock to both suspecting and unsuspecting butchers in Dagorretti and Kiamaiko markets.
The five will be arraigned on Wednesday, March 2.
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