KIMIMINI, Kenya – Detectives in Kimimini have arrested a man believed to be a central figure behind a series of coordinated coffee thefts that have rattled growers and processors in the region.
The arrest follows back-to-back raids last week targeting two facilities — Sowek Kenya Company Limited in Waitakuk and Kiungani Coffee Growers Cooperative Society — where armed gangs made away with large quantities of parchment coffee.
According to investigators, the most violent incident occurred on the night of November 25, 2025, when about 50 machete-wielding attackers stormed Sowek Kenya’s premises.
The gang reportedly cut through a barbed-wire fence before overpowering two night guards, tying them up and assaulting them.
The attackers fled with the guards’ phones and nine full beds of drying coffee.
Just a day earlier, thieves had broken into Kiungani Cooperative Society in a similarly brazen operation.
Detectives say the gang dug through a brick wall to access the parchment drying area, escaping with about 25 bags of P1 parchment coffee, each weighing 50 kilograms.
DETECTIVES NAB KEY SUSPECT BEHIND COFFEE THEFT IN KIMIMINIFollowing reported cases of coffee theft in Kimimini, detectives have launched a crackdown that has led to the arrest of a prime suspect and the seizure of a significant cache of stolen coffee.The criminal spree
A forensic-led investigation quickly narrowed down to a suspect identified as Gregory Kingasia Wekesa, alleged to have been buying coffee from illegal sources without authorisation.
Detectives tracked him to his home, where they recovered 18 bags of coffee — roughly 1,800 kilograms — hidden inside the house.
Another five bags, weighing about 500 kilograms, and 13 more bags (around 1,300 kilograms) were found drying in the sun within the compound.
Wekesa is being held at Kimimini Police Station as police prepare to present him in court.
Authorities say more arrests are expected as investigations continue into the wider criminal network targeting coffee stocks in the area.
The DCI is urging the public to report suspicious activity anonymously through its hotline 0800 722 203 or via WhatsApp on 0709 570 000 under the #FichuaKwaDCI initiative.
