The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested 13 suspects accused of running an international fake gold and counterfeit U.S dollar syndicate in Nairobi.
The 13 suspects, among them three police officers and foreign nationals were arrested moments after leaving the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
During the Thursday, October 1 operation, DCI tracked a suspicious movement from JKIA, trailing the suspects in a local hideout along Mombasa Road.
According to the detectives, the arrested officers used high-end vehicles with fake government stickers to escort a lured U.S. client to the hideout.
Following the raid, the authorities seized 65 fake gold bars and 31 packages stacked with counterfeit USD 750,000.
Detectives also recovered plastic seals, strapping rolls, custom reflectors, bags of cement, and assorted chemicals engineered to manufacture false currency.
The arrested officers have since been identified as Administration Police (APs) attached to the Security of Government Buildings (SGB).
Also, the network included foreign nationals from Nigeria, Sudan, Canada, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.
Hours before the raid, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials also intercepted 40 undeclared iPhones at JKIA.
The phones, comprising iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models, were seized from a passenger who had arrived in Kenya from Dubai, with their value estimated to cost over Ksh8.2 million.
Gold scam syndicates have increased rapidly in recent years, with scammers targeting foreign nationals and unsuspecting investors.
At the same time, DCI has also intensified operations to tackle the illegal business, with the latest operation coming weeks after detectives apprehended a city lawyer in a Ksh37 million gold fraud.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke (Kenya)
