Conman lands in hot water over Sh600,000 ostrich eggs

A man described by police as a notorious conman has been arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) while in the process of selling two ostrich eggs at Sh600,000.

The man, identified as Joseph Gakono, was arrested after members of the public tipped-off the police following several complaints filed against him in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County.

Confirming the arrest, Gichugu Sub-county Police commander Anthony Mbogo said detectives nabbed him for obtaining money by false pretence.

“The suspect has been on the run after getting wind of his impending arrest. He has also been threatening his victims with death after demanding their money back,” said Mr Mbogo. 

Earlier in the year, the suspect is said to have conned Ms Caroline Karimi out of Sh98,000 after promising to supply her with firewood at a local school.

In another incident, he is said to have obtained Sh320,000 from another victim identified as Joseph Mwangi after lying that he would sell him a piece of land in Kutus.

Police will seek to hold him for two more days after his arraignment in court to allow his victims to record statements.
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In another case, four suspects were on Monday nabbed by DCI officers after allegedly conning a Nigerien national out of Sh21 million.

The police said the four lured the man into the country as part of a gold scam.

Seth Steve Okute, who is the prime suspect, is said to have lured the victim to his Lux Cargo Group office at Siginon Warehouse within the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on the pretext of following up on the victim’s gold from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The DCI says that Samuel Macharia, Victor Onyango and Robert Kiplang’at obtained millions from him after promising that they will expedite a re-routing process that would see the cargo sent to his preferred destination, before disappearing and leaving the victim stranded.

“The four will be charged with obtaining money by false pretences and conspiracy to defraud,” said DCI. 

Authorities say that the four suspects were working alongside three other accomplices who are on the run. 

Pretended to be DCI officer

Last week, detectives from the Special Service Unit (SSU) arrested four suspects in Kasarani, Nairobi county for allegedly obtaining Sh29 million by false pretences.

Eric Otieno, Antony Achieng, George Kinuthia Mbugua and Arthur Caleb Otieno are accused of obtaining the money from an unsuspecting client on the pretext that they would sell him gold.

According to detectives, they approached a foreign national pretending to be DCI officers on diverse dates between April 1, 2019 and February 28, 2020 on a mission to sell him gold on behalf of an alleged senior DCI officer. 

The suspects reportedly continued demanding more money from the same victim until the time of their arrest.

Investigators said they had established that the suspects were using the name of a senior DCI officer in their con game.