Detectives attached to the Operations Support Unit (OSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have nabbed four men linked to a gold scam syndicate in the upper-end residential area of Gigiri in Nairobi.
The four suspects were apprehended during a raid at their residence on Whispers Avenue following forensic trailing procedures applied by the detectives.
In a statement released on Monday, July 28, the DCI said the four suspects are accused of orchestrating gold scams that defrauded unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money.
“The suspects: Patroba Odhiambo Tobias, Isaac Forkay Sleyon, Omong Ekoume Louis, and Wadja Bangsi Tang, were taken into custody during a meticulously planned raid at a residence in Gigiri, situated along Whispers Avenue,” read the DCI statement in part.
During the raid, the OSU detectives recovered a trove of incriminating evidence, including a gold smelting machine, an array of rubber stamps bearing the names of companies such as Alaska Express Freight Group Limited, Longcrane Logistics Limited, and Kakan Traders and Company.
The officers also seized numerous plastic seals, a weighing machine, and a cache of documents bearing stamp impressions from the East African Community, among other items.
According to DCI, preliminary investigations have revealed that Alaska Express Freight Group Limited is linked to a recent complaint involving two Canadian nationals who were defrauded of USD 37,500 (KES 4.8 million) last week.
The four suspects are currently in custody and are undergoing processing in preparation for their arraignment.
This comes weeks after OSU detectives arrested Tim Orao Shikalo, a suspect linked to a gold scam that defrauded a foreign investor of USD 265,200 (KES 38 million).
The scam involved fake gold purchase contracts totaling over 1,080 kilograms, with false promises of secure delivery, guaranteed collateral, and fraudulent legal facilitation.
While the crackdown on gold scammers also known as the Nairobi wash-wash continue there’s mounting evidence of collusion and support from government officers, particularly in the procurement of legal documentation.
Insiders say that the extensive Kenyan illegal gold trade touches on senior politicians who are able to manipulate immigration and customs routines to make everything look legal to foreigners.
The insider further revealed that the scammers have graduated from using crushed Yale padlocks dipped in Coca-cola during the test process to acquiring real gold in heavy grammage that is only used for demonstrations but never passed on to the unsuspecting buyers.
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