The Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Operations Support Unit (OSU) officers have arrested the prime suspect in Sh151 million scam.
In a statement, DCI said the suspect was cornered along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi, minutes after evading detection by Immigration officials at JKIA.
The suspect who has been identified as Ulundu Patrick Lumumba alias Gabriel Kulonda and Lumumba Patrick Byarufu was red-listed at the airport and was set to be arrested immediately after landing from Uganda but cleverly evaded the trap set by DCI.
“Determined to sneak back into the country and further his felonious activities, the suspect used a Ugandan Interstate pass card no. 020841009 in the name of Lumumba Patrick Byarufu, and upon arrest was also found in possession of yet another Congolese Passport number OPO792312 in the name of Patrick Ulundu Lumumba,” DCI stated.
The suspect is alleged to have scammed a female Chinese national Sh 151 million where two containers filled with sand declared as Tantalum minerals
“In the case he is implicated, a female Chinese national lost Sh151 million to the suspect’s machinations after one of three containers declared to contain tantalum minerals was opened in China, only to be found loaded with drums of sand, triggering investigations at the port of Mombasa, the transit route,” said the DCI.
In the preliminary stages, two 20ft containers also containing sand had been found at the Mombasa port, before hawk-eyed sleuths intercepted a third one (40ft) at a warehouse still at the port.
The 40ft container had passed the entire verification process without any documentation. This totaled to six, the number of containers of sand declared as tantalum minerals.
Detectives have since discovered that already two more containers had been cleared and shipped to Dubai, and efforts are underway to have them intercepted.
Some port officials believed to have compromised security checks to facilitate the illegal transactions are also being investigated.
The bank account in which the Sh 151 million was deposited has so far been frozen however, the syndicate had already obtained over Sh49 million along the way by working with bank officials who are now under investigation.
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