DCI Detectives Probing Senator, Two MPs After 10 Suspects Arrested In Ksh.1B Fake Gold Scam
A Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) operation resulted in the apprehension of ten suspected gold scammers, including a police officer, on Friday.
The operation that began on Thursday of last week prevented a Tunisian from purchasing one kilogram of counterfeit gold with Ksh1 billion.
DCI director Amin Mohammed arrived at the crime site in the Garden Estate neighborhood of Nairobi on Friday morning, where detectives had seized fake gold and counterfeit currency used by con artists to defraud unsuspecting businessmen.
The operation resulted in the arrest of ten individuals, including a police officer assigned to the DCI offices in Kitui who is suspected of being one of the officers safeguarding the country’s con artists.
“The operation began all the way in Tunisia when they claimed they could sell him gold,” said DCI Amin. “When he suspected and reported the matter to us, we began our investigation.”
The victim flew into the country around 3 a.m. on Friday of last week, and after waiting for nearly an hour with no one to pick him up, he was convinced by a taxi driver that he would be delivered safely to his destination.
He was then driven all the way to the Ngara neighborhood of Nairobi, where he remained incommunicado until he was summoned to the Garden Estate office on Thursday of this week.
Before seeing the gold, he was to pay Ksh.400 million, and after smelting and confirming a sample, he was to pay the remaining Ksh.600 million. He did not, however, arrive alone.
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The office was raided by detectives accompanied by the DCI’s tactical team, who arrested ten individuals; two individuals, one of whom is believed to be armed, escaped by tearing a privacy-enhancing shading net fencing.
DCI Amin added, “This is a massive cartel that uses big names to intimidate officers and operates in a highly sophisticated manner.”
The DCI director is currently investigating a sitting Senator, two sitting Members of Parliament, and senior National Police Service (NPS) officers who made desperate attempts to liberate the suspects.
The con artists also trade in counterfeit currency hidden in metal boxes in one of these rooms.
“Many victims have lost enormous sums of money, and they were almost making our country, particularly the Kilimani region, the center of their operations, but we’re coming after them,” Amin added.
The fraudsters established full-fledged offices to be used for multimillion-dollar transactions. Others portray a variety of government agents.
“Some pretended to be police officers, others pretended to be KRA agents, and others even pretended to be customs officers, complete with documentation that we have since discovered to be forged,” said Amin.
The confiscated items, including a firearm, phones, and numerous metal containers used to store counterfeit currency and gold, were transported to the DCI headquarters.
On Monday, the suspects are anticipated to be arraigned.
DCI Detectives Probing Senator, Two MPs After 10 Suspects Arrested In Ksh.1B Fake Gold Scam
