DCI Warns Against Smuggling Jailbreak Tools Into Police Cells
The agency used the incident to caution relatives, friends and other visitors against carrying prohibited items into police stations, prisons or other detention facilities.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has warned members of the public against helping suspects escape from lawful custody after an 18-year-old woman was arrested over an alleged attempt to smuggle tools into Ruai Police Station.
The woman was arrested after officers allegedly found a pair of pliers and scissors concealed inside a plate of food she had brought for three suspects being held at the station.
According to the DCI, the woman had visited the police station claiming she wanted to deliver a meal to the three men, who were arrested on September 9 following investigations into alleged attacks targeting young women in Nairobi.
The detectives said the discovery prevented what they described as a suspected plan to provide the detainees with tools that could potentially be used to facilitate an escape.
“A prison visit meant to deliver a meal instead blew a plot wide open after sharp-eyed officers at Ruai Police Station unravelled a scheme to hand remanded suspects the very tools of their escape,” the DCI said.
The three suspects are accused of operating an anonymous TikTok account that allegedly targeted young women by initiating contact and arranging physical meetings.
Investigators allege that some of the women were later taken to secluded or abandoned locations, where they were allegedly sexually assaulted and robbed.
Police further allege that some victims were forced to transfer money through accounts controlled by the suspects, while others lost mobile phones and other valuables.
The DCI said the woman who allegedly delivered the tools was immediately placed under arrest as investigations continued to establish whether other individuals were involved in the suspected escape plan.
The agency used the incident to caution relatives, friends and other visitors against carrying prohibited items into police stations, prisons or other detention facilities.
The DCI said assisting or attempting to assist a person to escape from lawful custody amounts to a criminal offence and warned that anyone found facilitating such an act would face legal action.
“The DCI reminds members of the public that aiding or attempting to aid an escape from lawful custody is a serious criminal offence and those found committing such acts will be met with the full force of the law,” the agency said.
The investigation into the alleged smuggling attempt remains ongoing, while the three suspects continue to face investigations over the separate allegations that led to their arrest.
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