Police have arrested a former General Service Unit(GSU) officer for alleged robbery with violence.
The ex-cop identified as Joseph Kariuki Ruoro was nabbed in Gilgil after being linked to at least nine incidences of robbery including a Matuu bank heist in Machakos and other crimes in coastal region counties.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation(DCI), Ruoro is suspected to be among the 5-member gang that robbed Equity Bank Matuu in July 2021.
At the time, the quintet broke into the bank and took off with two AK47 rifles that they stole from officers manning it.
"Ex-police officer Joseph Kariuki Ruoro who previously served in the General Service Unit is in our custody after he was arrested yesterday in Gilgil over nine incidents of Robbery with Violence linked to him.
"Ruoro's name became parEx-police apparent in the Equity Bank Matuu robbery incident in July 2021, when his gang of five robbed the bank & disappeared with two AK47 rifles disarmed from officers manning it," DCI' statement reads in part.
Investigations into the incident led detectives on a hunt for guns in the wrong hands before landing on the suspect.
In June 2023, police recovered the first AK-47 rifle stolen during the Matuu heist that left four dead Takaungu area in Kilifi County.
DCI say sleuths discovered the second AK47 rifle during an operation on July 11, 20,23 in the same location.
It was the discovery that led them to Gilgil where Ruoro was cornered and arrested.
"Preliminary investigations have so far linked him to 9 robbery incidents reported in Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Machakos counties. The suspect is being processed for arraignment with detectives advancing their investigations to nab more accomplices," DCI noted.
