Like the movies, every calculated heist always has a greater scheme to it. For the robbery to be a success, the thieves can’t just walk through the front door and steal.
Two Kitengela robbers decided to emulate what they see in their favorite crime TV shows. The daring thieves drilled a hole through the back of a phone shop and managed to loot merchandise worth over Sh. 700,000.
As usual, there are always complications when trying to pull off a successful heist. In their case, they didn’t turn off all the CCTV surveillance cameras. Footage shows that the robbery took place in the wee hours of Friday morning last week.
On Thursday last week, at around 4 pm, the two men booked rooms at a lodging adjacent to the phone shop. Little did the receptionist know a plan was hatched to rob the shop. Reports indicate that it took almost 8 hours to drill past the wall the two rooms share.
At 5:06 am Friday morning, CCTV footage showed two well-dressed men entering the shop through the drilled back hole. They stole everything from the shop and left the shop at 6:20 am.
Surveillance footage was still being recorded. While exiting, one of them was seen squeezing himself through the hole. He switched off the CCTV cameras and signaled his accomplice to follow him.
- The hole that the thieves drilled to access the shop, has been covered up.
Risper Kawira, the phone shop attendant opened her business as usual about an hour later. She found all the shelves were cleared and everything messy.
The shop owner admitted that the heist was well calculated.
“It was a premeditated crime. I lost new phone handsets, credit cards, earpods and cash,” he complained.
Cornelius Nzioka, the owner of the lodging said that the two suspects booked two rooms on Thursday evening. One of the prime suspects was a regular at the shop and always preferred room 106; the room adjacent to the phone shop.
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To make matters difficult, the robbers gave fake Identification details to the receptionist. The mobile numbers they provided are not reachable.
The incident has been reported at Kitengela Police Station under OB No 22/13/01/2023. Police are yet to catch up with the suspects.