Detectives
are investigating an incident where a woman claims to have lost Sh3.6 million
outside a petrol station along Lunga Lunga Road in the Industrial Area, Nairobi.
The gang is said to have threatened the victim with death in case she raised an alarm.
The woman told police she had withdrawn the cash from a bank and was taking the same to boost her business when the gang that seemed to have trailed her struck on Wednesday, February 5, morning.
She told police she was on the road with the cash in a bag and decided to stop a few meters from a petrol station to take some medicine.
She then heard a bang on the car window which broke into pieces.
Two men on a motorcycle wearing a facemask and who were also armed ordered her to surrender the cash she had.
She heeded the orders and handed the cash and the gang sped off.
She reported the matter and police visited the scene to confirm the same.
The team has so far obtained security camera footage that captured the drama.
Police said they are pursuing the gang.
Nairobi police commander George Sedah said a team of detectives is pursuing the gang.
Elsewhere, a Mpesa agent was attacked and robbed of Sh100,000 in Rongo Town, Migori County.
The woman told police she was headed home when a gang on a motorbike pursued and hit her at Kasere Trading Centre.
Police officers responded to the scene and established that Faith, who operates a Mpesa business, had closed her shop and boarded a motorcycle headed home.
On arrival at Kasere Market, the woman and the rider were attacked by two men.
One of the assailants was armed with a pistol, police said.
The rider sustained injuries in the chest while the woman complained of pain in the head.
The robbers then grabbed the woman’s bag, which contained a Mpesa phone, three bank transaction machines, and Sh100,000, before fleeing in a waiting car to Homabay direction.
Both victims were rushed to Venesa Medical Centre and later referred to Kisii Level Six Hospital for specialized treatment.
Efforts to locate and apprehend the suspects are ongoing, police said.
Past such cases have been found to have happened after the attackers were given prior information on the cash and its movements.
Police say their investigations show some bank employees reveal such transactions to gangs who stay in the banking halls or hang out there enabling them to trail and strike.
In some instances, victims were abducted and tied before being abandoned in thickets and after being robbed of the cash.
Police say they have been recording up to one case a week in the country amid calls for those planning to carry huge sums of money to seek police help for escort.
Special attention is being paid to the trend, officials aware of the probe said.
