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Five suspects arrested for defrauding foreigners in Sh15m fake gold scam

Five suspects arrested for defrauding foreigners in Sh15m fake gold scam
DCI Boss Mohammed Amin. PHOTO/PRINT

Five suspects were yesterday arrested for defrauding a Romanian and Swiss national of Sh15 million in a fake gold scam.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said detectives recovered two pistols, 96 rounds of ammunition, 14 smoke grenades, a bullet proof vest, a pair of handcuffs among other items.

The five suspects included the alleged CEO of AFREX Bridge Connections Ltd Lamaåca J. Benjamin alias Morlon Jean Emmanuel, Samson Kibet Sirkoi, Lucy Gitonga, Rose Kambua and Justine Adhiambo.

The suspects were all nabbed at different hideouts.

The victims reported that they had been approached by a person who informed them that the prime suspect, Lamarca, was in the business of selling 550kg of gold.

“The gold was purportedly stored at a godown in JKIA awaiting clearance, and was to be transported on January 20, 2025 once the payment of USD 120,000 was made,” the DCI said.

The unsuspecting foreigners made the full payment but the gold was never delivered and were instead taken round in circles.
On January 29, they reported the fraud at Wilson Airport Police Station.

Detectives raided AFREX Bridge Connections Ltd offices where crucial pieces of evidence were collected.

Lucy Gitonga and Rose Kambua were arrested there.

On Friday last week, Sirkoi, 34, was taken into custody, before the officers proceeded to Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate in Nanyukiwhere Lamarca and Adhiambo were arrested.

Detectives recovered two Glock Pistols, 96 rounds of 9mm ammunition, a pair of handcuffs, a laptop, expired mineral licences among other things.

Also recovered was a Toyota Landcruiser V8 silver in colour .

The two suspects were then escorted to Lamarca’s residence where more exhibits were found.

DCI boss Mohammed Amin (pictured) said gold scamming had substantially been reduced and that most of it was perpetuated by rogue lawyers who open escrow accounts and once payment is made the money is immediately withdrawn.

Amin added that some of the scammers have relocated to neighbouring countries, and has also urged individuals and businesses to verify the credentials of entities offering lucrative deals in precious metals.

In December last year, detectives arrested Steve Okoth Odek over Sh33 million gold scam

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