Detectives in Kibwezi have recovered 418 bags of rice out of the 522 bags which were stolen after a moving lorry was hijacked en route to Nairobi from Mombasa.

The Tuesday night incident reportedly occurred after a five-man gang intercepted the truck at Thange area in Kibwezi where they assaulted the driver before hijacking the vehicle.

“In the 2.30 am incident, the 46-year-old driver of the Isuzu FRR lorry had slowed down at a bumpy section behind another slow-moving trailer when the gang suddenly emerged and managed to gain entry into the driver's cabin,” Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a statement.

“After inspecting to see what he was ferrying, the men assaulted him before tying him up with ropes and throwing him out as they drove off the highway.”

A motorist driving on the same route rescued the driver and drove him to Machinery Police Post where he filed a report on the robbery.

DCI says sleuths immediately swang into action and circulated the robbery incident after which multi-agency teams were dispatched and the lorry was found abandoned near Manyanga shopping centre.

Detectives however say that on recovery of the lorry, 106 bags were found missing out of the total 522 bags each containing 25kg of rice. 

“The highway robbery was circulated across all police networks between Nairobi and Mombasa, where the Director of Operations at DCI Hqrs and his RCIO Coast counterpart mobilized Kibwezi teams in the pursuit, working with crucial leads obtained from tip-offs,” DCI noted.

The lorry was driven to Kibwezi Police Station as a pursuit for the suspects continues.