CUL DE SAC FOR SHEER GREED GOLD SCAMMERS

After days of scrupulous pursuit for notorious city fraudsters who defrauded two Dubai-based businessmen over USD 39,900 in a fake gold scam, DCI Operations detectives have rounded up 31 suspects connected to the scamming web in Runda, Ridgeways and Industrial Area parts of Nairobi.

Masquerading as genuine dealers in the precious metal, the suspects had on diverse dates in September, 2024 paraded coated off base metals to hoodwink and lure the two foreigners into a business deal, thereafter holing up with the thousands of dollars.

After making several trips to the country and into the opulent offices in which the scammers operated, the victims grew suspicious of the excuses made on why the 35kg of gold they had bought was not being exported to Dubai as agreed, thereby reporting the suspected fraud at DCI.

Today, a swift and coordinated crackdown was launched by the Operations Directorate led by the Operations Support Unit team, who raided the three operational bases and effected the arrest of the 31 suspects.

The operation also saw the seizure of four motor vehicles, metal boxes containing fake gold nuggets and bars, several radio sets, fake stamps and authorization certificates for various ministries in the government, branded reflector jackets, Kenya and East African flags among others, all which were processed and secured at a police exhibit store.

Meanwhile, interrogation on the suspects has since revealed some notorious faces in the illegal business as the masterminds of the scheme, including the suspected leader of the syndicate, Nashon Otieno Angudha, a serial who has two similar active cases in court.

In one of the cases that is coming up for mention tomorrow at Milimani Law Courts, Nashon is charged with conspiracy to defraud c/sec 317 of the penal code.

His second case graduated into a robbery with violence charge after their to-be-victims of gold scam (an Australian man and his Ugandan wife) were attacked, robbed and sexually assaulted by his team. In the case, Felix Ochieng Nyongesa and Jack Ouma Okwiri are his co-accused persons.