Maragua’s self-styled ‘president’ of a criminal gang that has been terrorising residents will spend Christmas behind bars after he was arrested on Friday.
Maragua Deputy County Commissioner Gitonga Murungi said the notorious criminal, known as John Ngugi Maina is in police custody.
Mr Gitonga said the suspect was arrested in a crackdown mounted by officers from Maragua police station and will be taken to court after the holidays.
The administrator described the suspect as “a prominently profiled criminal who has been in and out of jail several times with assault cases, causing grievous bodily harm, dealing in illicit brews, Livestock theft and recently robbery with violence”.
He added that detectives had been monitoring his movements and were able to track him to his drinking den in a bush in Maica Ma Thi village where he was found in a drunken stupor.
Mr Murungi said his ‘bodyguards’ abandoned him and ran away when police ambushed them leaving their boss to be picked easily with no resistance.
Last week, Nation.Africa reported how Maina’s gang was executing atrocities with impunity in Maragua town and its environs.
Nation revealed how his gang, armed with knives and machetes, were violently raising money to bail out their colleagues.
The terror gang is said to boast of being a government that has its president, interior, defence, treasury and a commando units.
One of their suspected member who is behind bars is 19-year-old John Nyambura who, in the ranks of the gang, is the interior leader and goes by the alias ‘Kindiki’.
He was arrested two weeks ago for being in possession of illegal brew.
Their ‘president’ Ngugi is feared in the town for his “luck” with the law. He has previously been charged with serious crimes including robbery with violence, physical assault causing grievous harm but was freed on insufficient evidence or on parole.
Another gang member Alex Macharia Kimani is currently remanded for peddling bhang and is said to be their defence chief.
This year, police have shot and killed two of the gang’s ‘commandos’ — Andrew Makai, 20, who was gunned down on January 3, and David Irungu, 30, who was shot on May 2. BY MPASHO NEWS