The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has dismantled a cross-border mobile phone theft and black-market network in Nairobi, arresting seven suspects and recovering 150 phones. The intelligence-led operation took place on January 24, 2026, spanning multiple city locations. The network linked Kenyan receivers with buyers in Uganda.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) conducted an intelligence-led multi-agency operation on January 24, 2026, dismantling a mobile phone theft and black-market network operating in Nairobi and extending to neighboring countries. Seven suspects were arrested for orchestrating the thefts and trading stolen devices. The raid, coordinated by the DCI’s Operation Support Unit (OSU), yielded 150 mobile phones, 16 tablets, and six laptops from various sites across the city.
A Ugandan national, suspected of connecting Kenyan receivers with Ugandan buyers, was among those detained; dozens of phones and laptops were recovered from her Shauri Moyo residence. In the city center, a shop at Tusker House on Ronald Ngala Street served as a hub for stolen goods, where tablets, phones, and components were seized. Another suspect was nabbed at Kangemi Bus Station for facilitating the transport of stolen items through bus networks.
Arrests in Ngumba Estate and Thome Estate uncovered assorted phones, laptops, and parts, some dismantled or altered via flashing and factory resets; nearby shops selling phone components were also targeted. A garage in the Industrial Area provided further recoveries, with phones and a laptop taken from a vehicle, highlighting the network's extensive distribution points.
Several recovered phones were traced back to owners, including one Nairobi resident who identified her device—stolen at a market—and reclaimed it after giving a statement. This operation echoes a similar bust in August last year in Nairobi’s CBD, where public tip-offs and surveillance led to the arrest of a suspect tampering with IMEI numbers to obscure ownership, ultimately dismantling that syndicate's base in a commercial building.