Detectives have recovered a high-end Mercedes-Benz GLK350d that was reported stolen from a garage in Spring Valley, Nairobi, as investigations continue to trace the suspects involved.
The unregistered vehicle had been booked into the garage for a paint job on January 30. It was later reported missing under unclear circumstances. The disappearance of the vehicle was followed by the sudden vanishing of the garage watchman, whose mobile phone was switched off, prompting police to circulate the vehicle as stolen.
A joint team of detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) in Nairobi Region, Gigiri, and officers from Imbirikani Police Station launched investigations and tracked the vehicle using forensic leads.
The detectives later spotted the Mercedes-Benz along Mombasa Road, triggering a pursuit that ended at a police roadblock in the Imbirikani area of Kajiado South Sub-County.
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As officers moved in to verify the vehicle’s details, the occupants abandoned the car and fled into nearby bushes. The suspects escaped towards Oltiasika and Nosilale villages and have not yet been arrested.
A closer inspection confirmed the vehicle matched the description of the stolen Benz. Police also established that it had been tampered with, with a fake front registration plate bearing number KDR 003N fitted in an apparent attempt to evade detection.
The vehicle was seized and escorted back to Nairobi for further processing as investigations continue.
Police say they are pursuing leads to arrest the suspects and to establish the full circumstances surrounding the theft, including the disappearance of the garage watchman.
By Benedict Aoya
