Authorities have raised alarm over a dangerous gang posing as police officers and preying on unsuspecting motorists along the busy Nakuru-Kisumu-Eldoret highway.

Senior Assistant Chief of Mang’u Location, Beatrice Mbugua, has urged drivers and motorcyclists to stop offering lifts to strangers after two violent robberies were reported within a week.

The first incident involved a 39-year-old truck driver who offered transport to men dressed in police uniforms. When they reached the Ngata area, three of the supposed officers drew knives and ordered him to stop.

“He complied, and they took away his property which included cellphones and cash. Before dumping their victim in a maize plantation, they tied him with ropes,” Mbugua narrated.

The truck driver, who is still undergoing counseling, endured hours in the scorching sun before rescuers found him at 6:30 pm, weak and dehydrated.

A second incident unfolded in Kiamunyi, where a 30-year-old motorist also picked up three men.

“When he arrived at Kiamunyi shopping centre, he stopped the vehicle and told his ‘passengers’ that he had reached his destination,” Mbugua said.

Two of the men immediately brandished weapons and forced the driver to keep going. The gang later abandoned him along the highway, shaken but alive.

Mbugua has warned the public to remain vigilant and support security agencies in identifying the criminals hiding among local communities.

“Work with the security agencies, so that we can ensure safety and security in our localities and the country at large,” she appealed.

The Administrator assured that police in Nakuru have intensified patrols and launched a manhunt for the suspects.

“We will not give space to these criminals to have a field day under the government’s watch,” she declared.