A court in Nakuru has allowed the police to detain for 15 days a man suspected to be the leader of the vicious Confirm criminal gang.
Principal Magistrate Isaac Orenge told investigators that they should charge Mr Dickson Macharia Waithera within the two weeks or release him.
The magistrate said the matter was of great public interest and police should be allowed enough time to carry out thorough investigations.
"Prosecutors have persuaded the court that they have good reasons to warrant detention of the suspect further," said Mr Orenge.
Prosecutors made their detention request on Thursday, when they produced Mr Waithera in court.
In an affidavit of Inspector Japin Nyachae said the police were investigating the suspect’s role in the killings of women in Mawanga, Bahati.
Mr Waithera is suspected to be the mastermind of a spate of crimes committed by members of criminal gangs in Nakuru.
He argued that the suspect ran a narcotics peddling network that had recruited over 200 young people.
He said Mr Waithera was a flight risk who was likely to interfere with witnesses if released on bond.
Mr Waithera was arrested on Wednesday at his house in Kivumbini estate, Nakuru East sub-county.
Nakuru County Police Commander Peter Mwanzo said the suspect had been on police radar after escaping arrest several times.
Among the items seized from his house were narcotics worth Sh300,000 in street value, opium, a phone and a laptop.
