The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested four people and dismantled a suspected counterfeit currency syndicate operating in Makueni County, recovering fake notes worth Ksh4.378 million in an intelligence-led crackdown.
According to a statement issued on Friday, officers attached to Mtito Andei Police Station first moved on Kambu Township, where they arrested two suspects found with a large haul of fake banknotes.
“A counterfeit syndicate dealing in fake banknotes has been dismantled in Makueni County after officers from Mtito Andei Police Station executed a swift, intelligence-led crackdown, seizing counterfeit currency with a face value of Ksh4,378,000,” the DCI said in the statement.
“The operation first targeted Kambu Township, where officers caught two suspects flat-footed. Sophia Adhiambo, 57, and Michael Gitau, 59, were cornered in possession of Ksh4 million in fake Ksh1,000 notes,” it added.
Determined to trace the full extent of the network, detectives then extended their operation to Mtito Andei Township, where they intercepted a HOWO truck, registration number KDX 614H/ZH 8450, that was ferrying fertiliser from Mombasa to Naivasha.
A search of the vehicle turned up an additional Ksh378,000 in counterfeit Ksh1,000 notes, which police said had been concealed inside the truck. This pushed the total value of the recovered fake currency to Ksh4.378 million.
The two men travelling in the truck, Robert Tonde, 52, and Stephen Musila, 42, were arrested on the spot.
All four suspects are now in police custody, undergoing processing ahead of their arraignment in court. The seized counterfeit notes and other exhibits have been secured at Mtito Andei Police Station as investigations continue.
The DCI said detectives are now following the money trail to establish the source of the fake currency, its intended destination and the wider network behind the operation.
The Makueni arrests come weeks after detectives intercepted two other suspects transporting counterfeit currency worth Ksh6 million along the Thika-Garissa Highway, in what appears to be a broader crackdown on fake currency circulation in the country. Investigators have not said whether the two operations are linked.
