Five individuals have been apprehended, three trucks seized, and more than 660 bags of cement recovered by law enforcement in Athi River, Machakos County. The arrests occurred during an operation conducted by officers from the Athi River Police Station on Monday.
Among those arrested were three truck drivers and several handymen caught in the act of allegedly siphoning cement. The cement bags were en route to customers who had placed orders with the manufacturer. Each truck was transporting 220 bags, with each bag weighing 50 kilograms.
One driver managed to escape during the operation and is currently being pursued by the authorities. The initiative was spearheaded by Athi River South Subcounty Police Commander Philis Muthoni and OCS Simon Kerich of the Athi River Police Station.
Commander Muthoni indicated that the operation was initiated based on police intelligence regarding a potential cement siphoning scheme involving certain truck drivers responsible for delivering cement to unsuspecting customers nationwide. A complaint was lodged at the Athi River Police Station on November 18 by a victim of this siphoning.
The complainant reported that she received bags of cement on November 18, only to discover that they weighed less than the expected 50 kilograms. Despite having paid for the full weight, she alleged that each bag weighed only 46 kilograms, suggesting that 4 kilograms had been siphoned from each.
She suspected that the cement was siphoned by unknown individuals at an unspecified location between the manufacturer and her residence in Kayole, Nairobi. The woman stated that she had weighed the delivered bags to substantiate her claims.
Authorities responded to the complaint by tracking down the vehicle that was allegedly involved in supplying cement. The vehicle was seized, and the driver was taken into custody.
On Monday, the driver was presented in Mavoko Law Courts, where the court authorized police to detain him for further investigation. He was subsequently held at the police station.
Muthoni reported that their operation at 5:30 PM led them to the crime scene, an open area approximately 200 meters from Old Mombasa Road, where they discovered individuals allegedly siphoning cement from two trucks. Police also found a delivery note from a cement company, dated November 25, 2024, inside one of the trucks. The document indicated that the truck was transporting 220 bags of cement intended for delivery to a hardware store in Nairobi, although the price per bag and the total payment details were obscured. Additionally, several empty branded bags were recovered from the site.
The incident was reported to Athi River Police Station as part of an operation targeting illegal cement siphoning. The drivers were taken to the Athi River Police Station, while a third truck was also towed after its driver managed to escape arrest, having not been present during the operation. The owner of the yard where the siphoning occurred was also absent during the raid and had not yet been apprehended at the time of reporting.
Muthoni stated that efforts to combat the syndicate had been intensified and encouraged the public to provide any relevant information to assist the police in eliminating such criminal activities in the area. One of the arrested workers claimed they had been siphoning cement continuously at the same location. He noted that more vehicles were siphoned during the night than during the day. The individual, a university dropout, mentioned he had been employed at the site for two years after leaving school due to financial constraints, earning Sh500 per day. He indicated that they siphoned between two to six kilograms from each 50-kilogram bag.
