Coffee worth Sh.2.5 million stolen

Seventy two bags of coffee worth more than Sh2.5 million was stolen Monday after gangsters raided Kiviuvi coffee factory in Runyenjes constituency.
Embu County Cooperative Commissioner David Muriuki said the robbers, armed with pistols and crude weapons, broke into the factory at around 2am, held the watchman hostage and threatened to shoot him if he screamed for help.
They then started packing the bags in a lorry after which they tied and threw him in one of the rooms at the factory.
“They used metal bars to break padlocks in the store where the coffee was kept,” said Muriuki.
The commissioner urged the government to employ police officers to guard all coffee factories so as to prevent such cases in future.
“All coffee factories should also install CCTV cameras to be able to identify thieves,” he noted, adding that all factories should also be insured.
The factory watchman, Ireri Njeru narrated how the gang carried bags of coffee from the store on their backs to the gate where the lorry had been packed.
Ireri said he was helpless as he watched the coffee being stolen saying had he screamed, the gang would have killed him.
“I was held hostage inside a room, guarded by two men as other robbers were busy offloading the store where the commodity was kept, yet I could not scream for help at all,” said Ireri.
The commissioner called for thorough investigation into the incident to ensure the culprits are brought to book.
Over the past two weeks, more than 5 coffee factories in Embu county have been raided and coffee worth millions of shillings stolen.
By Kimani Tirus