Mombasa Police Summon Notorious Oil Siphoners

BY ATHMAN MOHAMED, MARCH 26,2024

Police in Mombasa town have narrowed down on five key suspects involved in oil siphoning and other criminal activities.

The five suspects were yesterday summoned by DCI officers in Mombasa for grilling over their alleged illegal dealings.

The five are believed to have taken over key areas in Mombasa where they mastermind oil siphoning and facilitation of illegal dealings involving illicit money.The areas according to police are  Changamwe, Shimanzi, Makupa and Mishomorini.

They are expected to be arraigned once investigations are complete even as the police continue searching for more suspects.

The suspects include, Nicholas Manthi who has escaped several planned arrests Ali Hassan, Hassan Adam commonly known as Matano, Abdirahim Ahmed and Wankio Rioba who has been earmarked as dangerous and well connected to criminal gangs and suspected terror groups.

The five and mostly  Wankio Rioba have been on the radar of police for over a year now following a public tip off.

They have been linked to oil He siphoning from delivery trucks and long distance vehicles that normally fuel at different yards in Shimanzi and Changamwe.

Police believe the gang has several youth strategically stationed at different zones to facilitate siphoning of oil from Petrol-station trucks.

Last year, Rioba was arrested and questioned over his suspected Alshabaab connections.

The five suspects as per our investigations have been bragging of having everything at their disposal and protection and this includes all security agencies.

Incidences of oil siphoning have been filmed at Vivo Energy in Shimanzi were oil is siphoned from the delivery trucks and sold   to other small petrol stations at an affordable prices without due processes and mixing of other chemicals.

Detectives have also been pursuing linkages between the gang  and a section of Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) officials who are believed to be working with it.

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Apparently,the five have deep rooted linkages with some politicians in Mombasa and even key personalities on the banking sector who are linked to money laundering and drug trafficking activities.

Oil siphoning has been rampant in Mombasa and its environs with police suspecting direct collusion among petrol station attendants,rogue police officers and the criminal gangs.