Sex and flashy lifestyles: Why big money heists are all but vanity

The Wild West days when hood-wearing, gun-toting gangsters ruled the streets – robbing banks and warehouses – are long gone.

Faded, too, are the memories of infamous criminals such as John Kiriamiti whose escapades populate paperback novels.

In recent days, daring robbers siphon millions through technology or what has been a famed smooth set-up where money on transit vanishes under unclear circumstances.

The latest case was on November 6 when Kenyans woke up to shocking news that two security guards had vanished with Sh94 million belonging to a local supermarket.

Police said the cash was supposed to be delivered to a bank in the city centre when the incident happened around 6 am.

It is stated that the two security guards who have since been identified by detectives picked up the cash at Industrial area but left with police escort as usual only for it to emerge hours later that the money was missing.

The vehicle which the guards were using to ferry the cash was later found unmanned in the South C area in a successful heist that has left tongues wagging.

While the heist was smoothly conducted like others in the past, experts warn that the suspects usually run away from the scene but they don’t hide for long.

Living large

They say when money lands in dry pockets, there is unexpected adrenaline that triggers celebratory moods that involve sex parties and an appetite for lavish lifestyles.

One of the suspects in the latest robbery, for instance, is said to have been arrested while drinking in Busia.

Counselling psychologist James Mbugua argues that the first thing that goes through the mind of people who carry out successful heists about high life is that they go for what they have been dreaming of.

In most cases, women and alcohol in high-end joints come to mind. That is why they prioritise happy endings when they get they settle down to share the loot.

Even though, the expert explains that in most cases, such people end up not getting what they want having assumed that having a lot of money will earn them respect.

“We all yearn to have money but it might not be a solution to low self-esteem that is why some high profile figures still visit cheap joints where they sometimes get exposed,” Mbugua said. “It is easy to identify someone who has never had a lot of money because they don’t understand money and money management,” he added.

He says if someone has been earning Sh10,000 or Sh20,000 and all of a sudden, they get Sh2 million, they will not be able to manage the money but the money will manage them.

“Due to lack of exposure to money, such folks will have got what they have been dreaming of like high-end cars even if they have never owned any in their lives thus it gets easy to identify them,” the expert explained.

Away from the heist, he says when someone gets unexpected money, the best thing to do is to seek financial training on how to spend since some people dream of just having a lot of money. “Without proper planning or training, one could end up like someone who plans for a costly wedding just to trend and be the talk of the town but after which things will not go as expected,” Mbugua explains.

The latest heist comes after a similar one happened in September 2019 where two police officers stole Sh72 million.

One of the suspects was arrested with Sh4 million at his home in Kisii while his counterpart was nabbed with Sh3 million at his Kendu Bay home. At the same time, detectives recovered a brand new car from one of the suspects which is believed it was bought using the money from the heist just a day later.

Tunnel

In 2017, robbers accessed KCB Thika Branch via a tunnel they had dug and removed five containers of 50-real notes, with an estimated value of Sh50 million.

Three months before the incident, the criminals had rented a commercial property in Thika town next to the KCB bank premises before digging the 120-meter tunnel that helped them access the bank’s vault. The gang had renovated the property and put up a sign indicating it was a landscaping company selling both natural and artificial grass as well as other plants.

Neighbours described how they had seen van-loads of soil being removed daily, but understood this to be a normal activity of the business.

Three suspects were arrested in connection to the heist that shocked the country and days later police stated some money was recovered in a woman’s house around Thika.

The owner of the building said that the lady had rented the house and lived there for two days only for some money believed to have been recovered from the heist.

The known successful heist happened at Equity Branch in Kayole where a man rented a single room in a plot sharing a wall with the bank building and pretended to be dealing in books.

During his stay, he managed to drill a hole to gain access to the strong room before carting away two safes containing Sh27 million. He was never caught or the money recovered.

What was surprising, however, is that G4S guards manning the bank never heard of any noise while the drilling was taking place. Inside the bank, police found two gas cylinders, welding machines, two blankets and several metallic tools.

Breach security

Security expert Richard Tuta says people entrusted with money in some organisations can easily manage to steal them because they have the ability to breach security protocols.

Tuta explains that in some cases that have been witnessed in the recent past, the culprits could be part of the teams tasked with implementing the security protocols.

For a heist to happen, he says that the suspects must have a high level of trust since they do some things in routine like same vehicles, same routes and other common details that can be easily predicted.

“In that case it is very hard to subject the suspects to a high standard of verification because they are known based on what they usually do,” he explained.

To beat such staff with evil plans, the security expert explains that the best method is to be pessimistic, citing those involved in security should be always suspicious of any move.

“Proper background checks should also be carried out on staff which should be regular, for a heist to happen, it means there must have been some signals,” he warned.

“The companies should also implement disruptive methods, frequently using different people to carry out some takes, that way it will make it hard for those planning to steal,” he explained.

Female partners who are careless, he adds, can also lead to successful arrests by hawk-eyed detectives.

Carrying out a heist that involves millions of shillings could be easy but Tuta says, it could also be easy for the culprits to be caught based on their operations.

He argues that organized crime goes beyond one person thus tracing the suspects makes it an easy task for sleuths.

“They may be using the same money to cover their traces or buy their freedom or to do a cover-up for good,” he explained.

At the same time, Tuta says money from the heist is serialized thus once spent it will be easy to trace.

“Tracing for money is very easy because, at some point, the culprits would want to share the money with mistresses or wives or brothers. Another thing is communication, at some point the planners of the heist must communicate,”

He added, “People might have plans to steal and might succeed but beyond that, it becomes a challenge to spend since sometimes they are caught with all the cash intact.”