Two robbers drilled a hole through a phone shop in Kitengela and made off with merchandise worth at least Sh700,000 in a daring heist.
The incident occurred on the night of January 12 and was captured on surveillance cameras.
According to Daily Nation, the two men booked two rooms in a lodging adjacent to the phone shop at around 4 p.m. last Thursday, and it took them at least eight hours to drill a hole in one of the rooms.
At 5.08 a.m., surveillance footage shows two well-dressed men entering the main shop area from the back. They ransacked the store and left at 6.20 a.m. with the merchandise.
The first suspect can be seen squeezing himself through the hole, then turning off one of the CCTV cameras and signalling his accomplice to follow him.
According to the shop’s owner, the crime was planned.
“It was a premeditated crime. I lost new phone handsets, credit cards, EarPods and cash,” he said.
The caretaker of the lodging, Cornelius Nzioka, 51, said the two suspects approached the receptionist on duty on Thursday evening and booked two rooms.
“One of the suspects was a regular customer and always preferred room 106 which is adjacent to the phone shop,” Mr Nzioka said.
He also stated that the suspects’ identification and personal information provided to the receptionist were discovered to be false.
They also provided mobile phone numbers which could not be reached.
The theft was reported at Kitengela Police Station as investigations commenced.
