3 police officers among 13 suspects arrested over fake gold scam

The crackdown, spearheaded by a joint team from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Operations, the Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU), and Makadara detectives, was triggered after a US national was lured to the country under the pretence of a lucrative gold deal. 

The syndicate's operations unravelled when their highly suspicious movements alerted undercover teams, leading to a tracking operation that moved from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) down to a hideout behind a market near Vision Plaza along Mombasa Road.

Among the suspects caught in the dragnet were three Administration Police (AP) officers attached to the Security of Government Buildings (SGB) unit who were providing armed tactical cover for the syndicate. 

The officers, armed with two Beretta pistols and a Chalbi pistol, had driven high-end vehicles fitted with deceptive government stickers mimicking authorization from Parliament and the Office of the President to JKIA to personally intercept and escort the international client.

During the raid, detectives seized an extensive cache of criminal infrastructure including 31 packages containing 750,000 USD in fake currency (equivalent to approximately Ksh 100 million), fraudulent Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) stickers, metallic boxes, and a safe box loaded with 65 bars purported to be pure gold.

The team also recovered plastic seals, strapping rolls, custom reflectors, bags of cement used to simulate shipping weight, and assorted chemicals engineered to manufacture false currency.

The network featured a heavily international footprint, with the 13 arrested individuals including four foreign nationals from Canada, Nigeria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.