Mtwapa: Police officers from Mtwapa Police Station have arrested a repeat offender and recovered a large consignment of assorted items believed to be stolen property. The arrest was made during a sting operation that underscores growing concerns over handling of stolen goods in Kenya’s coastal region.
According to Kenya News Agency, the suspect, identified as Pius Muthama Joseph, aged 38, was arrested following a tip-off from a member of the public, after officers from Kilifi South Sub-County conducted a routine patrol within Mtwapa Township on Monday. Sub-County Police Commander Hassan Kochale confirmed the arrest, saying officers proceeded to the suspect’s water refilling shop and later his residence, where they recovered an unusually large cache of items that bore no relation to the business being operated.
Among the items recovered were 20 gas cylinders from different companies, four television sets, one laptop, 26 mobile phones mostly Samsung and several tablets. The mobile phones and tablets were found locked inside a safe, which the suspect claimed he could neither open nor access. Officers broke open the safe in his presence and retrieved the items.
Other items recovered were three fans, two sound systems, one amplifier, one welding machine, one grinder, one heat gun, one mixer, a steel box, four wristwatches, four rings, eight silver chains, a panga, a knife, six remote controls, four extension cables, assorted clothes, gas accessories, and 24 SIM cards from both Safaricom and Airtel networks.
The significance of the recovery became more apparent when, as officers were cataloguing the items at the station, a member of the public arrived and positively identified one of the gas cylinders as his. The man said the cylinder had been stolen while he had briefly stepped out of his house.
Kochale expressed concern over the role played by scrap metal dealers and informal pawnshops in facilitating the trade in stolen goods along the coast, warning that such businesses had become a ready market for criminals. He urged the public to be vigilant and to report suspicious transactions to the police.
The commander noted that this is not Joseph’s first encounter with the law on similar charges. The suspect has previously been arrested for the same offence, and that the case is still pending before a court of law. He is currently out on bail. Kochale urged the court to take firm and decisive action against Joseph, emphasizing that such activities cannot continue.
The commander appealed to members of the public who may have lost items to visit Mtwapa Police Station to assist with identification and ongoing investigations. The suspect will remain in custody at Mtwapa Police Station awaiting arraignment in court and all recovered items have been retained as exhibits.
