Bomet SIM swap fraud: Ten suspects arrested
Police in Bomet have arrested 10 suspected mobile phone money transfer fraudsters.
Police in Bomet have arrested 10 suspected mobile phone money transfer fraudsters.
The suspects had 14 unused SIM cards, nine used Safaricom SIM cards and 11 national identity cards suspected to be stolen.
"They had exercise books filled with names of persons, mobile numbers, sim card pins, M-Pesa balances, Fuliza limits and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) M-Pesa loan limits," reads a police report seen by the Nation.
The books also contained the SIM card holders' dates of birth and places of origin, among other details, all of which have been seized by the police as evidence.
Mr Phantom Analo, the Chepalungu sub-county police commander, said the suspects were arrested in Olbutyo on Saturday following a tip-off from members of the public.
"Police arrested the suspects at their operations base following a tip-off from members of the public. The matter is under investigation and the suspects will be processed for arraignment in court," Mr Analo said.
This is the highest number of suspects ever arrested at one time by the police in connection with the criminal activities of illegally transferring money from victims' bank accounts.
Cases of swappers operating in the area have increased in the recent past despite a crackdown by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Mulot trading centre, which straddles Bomet and Narok counties, is known to be the base of operations for the swindlers, who have gained notoriety across the country.
Some of the suspects have in recent months moved their base from the region to Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia to evade arrest.
The suspects are said to be working in cahoots with employees of mobile phone service providers, financial institutions and the police.
Once the suspects have obtained the registration details of their targets, they transfer all the money to their bank or mobile phone accounts and then take loans from online money lenders.
Several cases are pending in court after suspects were arrested in different parts of the country.
However, many of the cases have been dropped after the victims failed to come forward to record statements with the police.
