The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has warned land owners over a criminal syndicate targeting parcels of land to obtain huge sums of money.
In a statement, DCI said the land cartels mainly target land owners entering into joint ventures with developers.
“We wish to caution land owners especially those in upscale suburbs of an organized criminal ring that is targeting their parcels of land with a view to obtain hefty sums of money using forged documents. To lower the risk of early detection and go whole hog with their fraudulence, the cartel’s main target are the land owners entering into joint ventures with developers,” read the statement in part.
Dci noted that the criminal enterprise sets in at a time when developers are approaching individuals with underdeveloped parcels of land, where the two parties agree on profitable terms for the development of the land.
“More often than not, the agreement will require the land owner to obtain certificates of lease, which has become the soft spot for the fraudsters,” DCI stated.
In one recent incident involving a Pumwani-based resident, a victim could have lost his two parcels of land had a keen developer not sought the services of a thorough city advocate.
The victim, however, lost Sh 553,550 to the cartel that posed as staff at the Nairobi County Lands Registry.
One suspect, Lawrence Martin Ochieng, who approached the victim with a promise to get him certificates of a lease for both parcels of land was arrested and arraigned at Milimani Law Courts on Monday after his gang issued the victim with forged documents and obtained the stated amount of money.
“Notably, most of the suspects implicated in the case are renowned gold scammers, who have taken a break from that field and are testing the waters on this illicit venture. Luckily, they have been identified and the DCI Operations team is hot on their heels,” DCI added.
The agency cautioned land owners to ensure due diligence whenever dealing with any land-related matters, given the emotive nature of land issues that often trigger regrettable consequences.
