The Kenya Director of Criminal Intelligence (DCI) Operations Support Unit (OSU) has arrested seven suspects in a mega-gold scam worth Kenyan shillings 2.58 billion targeting Malaysian nationals. According to the DCI, multiple tools involved in the trade of fraud were recovered by the intelligence team.
On December 27, 2023, the DCI team acting on intelligence received a tip from a Kilimani sub-county criminal intelligence officer about a planned gold scam against two Malaysian nationals and deployed surveillance to monitor the situation of the victims upon their arrival in the country.
“The suspects, since October 19, 2023, working with a gang based in Cameron through social media platforms, had managed to woo the victims to transact in gold worth 500 kilogrms, equivalent to Kshs 2.58 billion, which was to be sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the victims had already sent $6350 USD through Rock Africa Miner Company,” said the DCI team.
The DCI noted that they had kept surveillance on the scammers and the victims since they arrived in the country and trailed scammers as they picked the two foreign nationals from their hotel at four points by Sheraton along Argwings Kodhek road in Kilimani aboard a Toyota Noah Registration Number KCW 835U.
“They took the victims to a private office located along Mageta Road within Kileleshwa and shut the main gate. Our team stealthily got into the compound; some suspects cited the team and jumped over the wall, which led to a chase; all seven were apprehended,” added the DCI team.
DCI identified the suspects as Didier Muke (a Congolese national who already has a pending case), Brian Otiende, Patrick Otieno, Joshua Ngandi, Charles Vicent Njerenga, Mark Kabete,and Ken Kiboi, four of whom were G4S security guards.
According to the DCI, a number of items were discovered at the scene that were processed for exhibits, including metallic boxes, 84 gold-coated metallic bars, documents and stamps for Ace Point International Limited, assorted G4S uniforms, and motor vehicles.
According to an All That Glitters report (Revelations of a Kenyan Gold Smuggler), this and many more long lists of similar incidents where foreign nationals are scammed show that the scammers conduct extensive planning with local gold transporters and traders, both of Kenyan origin and from other neighbouring countries, and plan on how to scam foreigners. The planning takes months, as does identifying the victims, mainly through social media.
