Four suspects have been arrested after detectives stopped an attempted jet fuel theft at Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) intercepted a suspicious truck inside the airport and, upon searching it, discovered drums filled with jet fuel believed to have been siphoned from an aircraft undergoing maintenance.
Upon a search conducted, the detectives discovered four barrels that each contained 200 liters of jet fuel. According to investigators, the fuel had been extracted from an aircraft undergoing maintenance work at the time of the incident.
According to police, the suspects may have taken advantage of the maintenance being carried out to carry out their operation without attracting any form of suspicion.
According to the DCI, the individual suspected to have handled the fuel did not have a gate pass due to restricted areas. Additionally, the truck used did not have permission to transport petroleum products since it had not been accredited by the EPRA.
The suspects have been held in custody by police authorities. As detectives confirm, investigation of the matter is still under process before bringing the suspects to court.
The truck as well as the recovered fuel have been seized and kept in custody in view of use as evidence during the trial of the case.
Fuel heist is commonly associated with the high monetary value of jet fuel and illegal sale. Sometimes jet fuel is adulterated with diesel to make it more profitable. In other cases, it is used for substance abuse and inhalation as a drug.