By GPC Reporter
For customers walking into a phone repair shop in Kisii town, it may have appeared to be an ordinary place where broken screens were replaced, charging faults fixed and malfunctioning handsets brought back to life.
But detectives say the shop at Market Plaza was allegedly hiding a much darker trade, involving stolen phones, unlawful unlocking and the illegal resale of devices bought through financing.
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A joint operation by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Kisii Central and fraud investigators from Mogo Auto Ltd led to the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of more than 500 mobile phones and assorted phone motherboards.
The suspects, identified as Duncan Ontita Anyaga and Phares Nyagaka Luke, were arrested during a raid on the premises, where detectives say they found a large collection of devices and phone components.
Among the phones recovered were several Tecno KM4 handsets financed through Mogo and previously reported missing.
According to investigators, some of the devices had been stripped of their security locks, allegedly allowing them to be prepared for resale.
The discovery has offered a glimpse into how a phone that disappears from its owner could potentially find its way back into the market after being altered to defeat the security measures placed on financed devices.
A mobile phone often carries photographs, contacts, messages, financial applications and other pieces of a person’s everyday life, making its disappearance both costly and deeply personal.
The two suspects remain in custody as investigators process the recovered devices and finalise the case ahead of their arraignment.
The DCI said it was continuing to work with partners, including financing companies, to disrupt networks involved in the theft, unlawful unlocking and illegal resale of financed mobile phones.
