3 BURUNDIANS DETAINED BY POLICE IN KISII TOWN WITH 55 STOLEN PHONES

In Kisii Town, at least three citizens of Burundi have been taken into custody, with 55 different stolen cell phones they were found with.

Officials investigating the matter claimed they were looking for more suspects.

The three, according to the police, were cell phone smugglers.

The devices, according to the police, were likely stolen from somewhere else and were being gathered for shipping to an unidentified market and possibly nearby nations.

It was thought that the cell phones were taken from the residents and other cities, and they were most likely going to be sent to Burundi to be sold in a new market.

According to investigators, this lets the new users operate the devices covertly.

These kinds of situations are typical in cities.

According to police, there are continuing efforts to dismantle the cartels and the stolen devices are sold to other countries.

As part of operations to target repair companies that handle these stolen devices, multiple people have been taken into custody in Nairobi.

When victims suffer injuries or sometimes lose their lives due to the theft of equipment, severe accusations are brought against the makers.

When investigations were finished, Adamson Bungei, the head of police, issued a warning to those who deal with electronics, including sellers of used cell phones and electrical engineers or repairers, that they could be charged with major crimes.

Stop handling stolen devices if you work as a mobile phone engineer or repairer. As soon as you are discovered, you join the criminal enterprise, he declared.

To combat the threat, he said investigators are currently following up on solid leads related to the matter.

Thieves who steal mobile phones to fix them before selling them to unwary customers typically rob tens of thousands of users while they are out on the road.

Bungei advised anyone who has had their electronics taken to always report the incident to the police.

The DCI Nairobi Region Coordinator, Njeru Nthiga, issued a warning to cell phone thieves who pose as phone dealers and phone repair shop owners, saying that law enforcement is actively pursuing them. She also advised legitimate operators to exercise caution when handling used electronics, as doing so could land them in legal hot water.

As part of their efforts to solve the problem, police said they are focusing on motorbike riders who are behind the trend of stealing the equipment.