A 30 year old man has been arrested and 42 suspected stolen phones confiscated by police in a repair store along Kimathi Street in Nairobi.

Matthew Mwangi Gachago, was apprehended during an operation by detectives from the Kilimani sub-county to retrieve  a stolen phone following an attack in the area.

“While pursuing a stolen phone whose owner was attacked in Kilimani area, detectives from Kilimani sub-county today afternoon seized 42 suspected stolen smartphones from a phone repair stall located along Kimathi Street in Nairobi,” DCI noted.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), their pursuit led them to a phone repair stall situated along Kimathi Street, where they discovered the cache of suspected stolen smartphones.

“Matthew Mwangi Gachago, who is the owner of the shop housed within Pioneer building was arrested in the operation, and a verification exercise is underway to establish ownership of the seizure,” DCI said.

The operation comes a week after authorities intensified efforts to crack down on electronic theft that saw the recovery of several mobile phones, laptops and tablets from repair stalls in parts of the city and its outskirts.

During a region-wide operation conducted on March 4, 2024, detectives confiscated over 240 suspected stolen mobile phones were confiscated and over 13 suspects arrested.

“Detectives across Nairobi Region have seized hundreds of suspected stolen mobile phones, laptops and tablets in an ongoing crackdown on suspicious phone repair stalls with a view to combating electronic theft surge. In the regionwide operation conducted on March 4, 2024, over 182,” the statement from DCI said in part.

Detectives say the crackdown targets suspicious phone repair stalls, and they say it is aimed at curbing the surge in electronic theft incidents in the country.

Amid the ongoing crackdown, the investigative branch is however urging  residents to be on the look out and be wary of purchasing second-hand phones and other electronics as they risk landing them in trouble since most of this electronics are usually mostly stolen.