In a twist straight out of Nairobi’s tech underworld, police have arrested three suspects accused of altering IMEI numbers to disguise stolen smartphones right in the heart of the city.
Victor Kimani, the alleged mastermind, was nabbed in Nairobi’s CBD during an operation led by officers from Central Police Station. He was reportedly caught red-handed reprogramming stolen devices, a technique often used to erase a phone’s digital fingerprint and throw off tracking systems.
But the real breakthrough came when Kimani led detectives to Intermark Business Centre, where two more suspects Marvine Wangundo and Jeremiah Njoroge were also arrested.
Inside the premises, police uncovered what can only be described as a digital graveyard:
- 36 Samsung phones
- 23 Vivo phones
- 2 Nokia phones
- 1 LG phone
- 1 HMD phone
- 1 Tecno phone
- 1 Motorola phone
- 6 M-Kopa Samsung phones
- 2 M-Kopa Nokia phones
- 2 Vivo motherboards
- 2 Dell CPUs
- 2 HP Elite CPUs
- 1 desktop computer
Most of the phones had their back covers stripped off, suggesting they were actively being tampered with. The computers are believed to have been used to illegally reconfigure IMEI numbers, effectively “laundering” the phones for resale.
All three suspects are now in custody as detectives finalize investigations ahead of their arraignment.
The DCI is urging the public to report suspicious tech activity or phone theft anonymously via their toll-free line or WhatsApp a reminder that even when it seems your stolen phone has vanished, it might just be sitting in a stash like this, waiting to be found.
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