A thief breaking into a car.
On April 9 this year, armed highway robbers attacked a lorry driver transporting gypsum worth millions of shillings from Nairobi to Mombasa and made away with the motor vehicle and the construction materials.
The robbers hijacked the lorry at Ikanga along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. Detectives later tracked down and arrested six suspects, among them a woman, linked to the daring highway robbery. They also recovered a number plate belonging to the stolen lorry.
Police reports indicated that one of the suspects, a woman, dashed out from a nearby thicket, attempting to cross the road. In a split-second decision to avoid a head-on collision, the driver swerved, causing the lorry to veer off the road.
Seizing the opportunity, a group of five others emerged from the nearby bushes and forcefully entered the vehicle as one of them brandished a pistol.
"The driver and his co-driver were handcuffed and bundled behind the seats. One of the robbers took the wheel, steering the lorry towards Mombasa. The two victims were dropped off along the way as the criminals vanished with the lorry and the gypsum," stated a police report.
A fortnight ago, Reuben Osiemo was driving to Mombasa to attend a workshop. As he approached Makindu, he was flagged down by a smartly dressed woman.
But as the medical doctor slowed down to talk to the purportedly stranded woman, two thugs emerged from a nearby thicket and attempted to hijack his Toyota Land Cruiser.
The quick intervention by police officers on patrol along the busy highway saved him from what could otherwise have been a traumatic ordeal. They fired shots into the air, scaring the robbers, who fled into the nearby thicket.
But the two highway robberies are not isolated incidents.
For months, motorists, including long-distance truck drivers, have borne the brunt of a notorious highway robbery network staging brazen attacks on major transport corridors, including the busy Mombasa-Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
Motorists, especially long-distance truck drivers, have lost cargo worth millions of shillings in brazen robberies on major highways. Those not so lucky have been killed during the robberies and carjackings.
Amid the surge in highway robberies, police have revealed the shocking tricks the thugs use to lay traps for their victims. DCI detectives now say women are being used by highway robbers to trap victims.
Detectives have revealed that the criminals have evolved their tactics of intercepting vehicles, including posing as police officers by wearing reflector jackets and flagging down vehicles before robbing occupants or making away with cargo.
Motorists, including long-distance truck drivers, have borne the brunt of a notorious highway robbery network staging brazen attacks.
"We have arrested quite a number of women linked to the violent robberies. The women are used to lure unsuspecting truck drivers and other motorists on major highways before their colleagues strike," said a senior DCI detective, who spoke in confidence.
"Recently we arrested a woman and, after investigations, established she was among six highway robbers who hijacked a lorry on the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway," he added.
Blessed with good looks, the women are dispatched to various highways in a well-orchestrated scheme to lure unsuspecting motorists before their armed colleagues strike.
The women, detectives say, are used as distractions to lower a motorist's guard before the thugs execute a violent ambush.
"A woman, for instance, stands by the roadside pretending her vehicle has broken down, or she feigns a medical emergency to compel sympathetic drivers to pull over. They are also using smartly or sometimes scantily dressed women as bait to lure their victims. This is common on the Nairobi-Mombasa and Nairobi-Nakuru highways," said the DCI detective.
Other tactics used by the criminals, according to police, include placing objects such as stones on the road before staging ambushes when motorists slow down.
"Mostly, the criminals, wearing fake police uniforms and using private vehicles, stage roadblocks to stop, rob and sometimes kidnap drivers. They stage robberies at gunpoint, especially during late-night hours when police patrols are lighter. They also sometimes throw spikes on the road to force vehicles, especially long-distance trucks and lorries, to stop, then use the opportunity to rob their victims," said the DCI officer.
"Apart from staging ambushes, they sometimes use accomplices posing as stranded passengers before staging robberies at gunpoint. They also stage minor collisions to get drivers to stop," he added.
The rise in highway robberies prompted the DCI headquarters to deploy a team made up of officers from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) and the Operation Action Team (OAT), which has been tracking down and arresting members of the criminal network.
"A team made up of officers from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau and the Operation Action Team has been tracking down and arresting members of the criminal network. Detectives have been conducting intelligence-led operations to arrest the criminals," said DCI Director Mohamed Amin.
"We have made numerous arrests and recovered stolen goods. The successful operations are a clear warning to criminals who prey on innocent motorists that the law will catch up with them. We are committed to combating highway crime and ensuring the safety of travellers and motorists," he added.
The DCI boss said the crackdown will continue until all remnants of the criminal syndicate are completely eliminated.
The DCI says detectives have been employing a combination of advanced forensic technology and intelligence, including using call data records and mobile phone triangulation, to track down suspects and smoke them out of their hideouts.
In the most recent crackdown, on June 27, 2026, detectives from the DCI headquarters' Operation Action Team and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, alongside their counterparts from the Nakuru Regional Office, arrested eight suspects linked to a spate of highway robberies targeting courier companies and vehicles transporting goods across various parts of the country.
Investigations revealed that the eight are masterminds behind multiple highway robbery incidents reported in various parts of the country.
"The eight are believed to be masterminds of a series of robberies in Nakuru, Mai Mahiu, Kipkelion and Londiani that have resulted in the theft of goods in transit valued at millions of shillings. Investigations revealed that they belong to an organised criminal network believed to comprise about 15 members that has been terrorising motorists," revealed DCI Director Mohamed Amin.
A thief breaking into a car.
"The notorious syndicate boasts networks in both Nairobi and Kisumu, employing a strategy that involves masquerading as DCI and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers conducting inspections while equipped with police radios and armed," explained Mr Amin.
According to detectives, the group has been operating by impersonating government enforcement officers and intercepting vehicles transporting cargo.
"Members of the gang stop vehicles transporting goods under the guise of law enforcement officers before escorting them to isolated locations where the cargo is transferred into waiting vehicles before they vanish," added Mr Amin.
During the operation, police recovered items they said were linked to the gang's activities, including communication equipment and vehicles believed to have been used in the commission of the offences. The suspects have since been charged in court.
Separately, a fortnight ago, a gang of four armed robbers hijacked a matatu near Kambu Township along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway and made away with passengers' phones, cash and other belongings.
A trader, Ndinda Kimilu, suffered gunshot wounds during the dawn attack.
This was not an isolated incident. The region has been rocked by a wave of other daring highway robberies in recent months, which have been linked to a gang terrorising motorists.
"We have established that a gun used in one of the robberies was also used in two others, including one where a robber gunned down an accomplice as they attempted to hijack a vehicle near Kambu in May," revealed Kibwezi police boss Felista Mukunjura.
The police boss was referring to a dramatic May 6 incident in which a suspected highway robber gunned down a 23-year-old man under unclear circumstances as they attempted to hijack a brand-new second-hand car near Kambu Township along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway.
The man who lost his life in the daring mission was among a group of suspected highway robbers on the police radar. He faced a litany of highway robbery cases at the Makindu Law Courts.
When he met his death, a Makindu court had granted him a Sh600,000 bond in a case in which he had been charged alongside two others after they hijacked a truck ferrying 500 bags of rice worth Sh1.9 million near Kibwezi Township on December 23, 2024.
A Kitui woman has been linked to the latest wave of robbery incidents in the region.
DCI detectives say they have arrested several suspects in recent months, some of whom they believe are ringleaders of a highway robbery syndicate operating on major roads across the country.
Records show that nearly 20 highway robbery incidents have been reported on major highways and roads in the last six months.
Interestingly, while most victims report the incidents, police say others opt to remain silent.
The mode of operation, the DCI said, confirms the syndicate's wider network, pointing to well-organised crime.
The latest arrests of individuals believed to be masterminds behind the robberies mark a significant development in the crackdown and investigations into the incidents, which have affected the movement of commercial goods and courier operations.
Detectives said investigations remain active, and efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest other individuals believed to be connected to the criminal network.
According to police records, highway robbery hotspots where previous incidents have been reported include the Thika-Nyeri and Thika-Embu highways, the Timboroa-Makutano-Burnt Forest and Salgaa-Sachangwan-Kibunja stretches on the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway.
Others include the Kamandura area along the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway and several spots on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, including Voi, Mlolongo, Makindu and Mazeras, among others.
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