2 Suspects Arrested Over Ksh7 Million Gold Scam

Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) have arrested Benson Gembe Odero and Emmulate Adhiambo Othuno in connection with a gold scam scheme targeting foreign investors.

In a statement on Thursday, August 14, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the two suspects are the masterminds of a gold scam that defrauded an investor from Dubai of $54,300 (Ksh7 million).

“After months on the run, two gold scammers who have been slipping through the police dragnet have finally been brought to book.

“Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) have arrested Benson Gembe Odero and Emmulate Adhiambo Othuno, the masterminds behind a multi-million-shilling gold scam targeting foreign investors,” read the DCI statement in part.

According to DCI, two investors from Dubai lodged a complaint against the suspects in September 2024 after losing their money.

The two foreigners were lured by the suspects with the promise of a lucrative deal to purchase 35 kilograms of gold.

After days of negotiations, the two investors from Dubai flew to Kenya to finalize the transaction.

The investors were chauffeured to a hotel in Kilimani estate and introduced to an elaborate network of accomplices, some posing as Customs officers from KRA, Ministry of Mining officials, and licensed private jet operators.

The investors realized they had been scammed only after handing over $54,300 (Ksh7 million) to the suspects.

DCI detectives launched an investigation into the gold scam and carried out coordinated raids in Runda, Ridgeways, and the Industrial area.

During the raids, 31 suspects were arrested and subsequently arraigned in court for involvement in the fake gold scam.

Odero and Othuno managed to hide from the police until OSU detectives cornered them on August 13, 2025.

The duo was arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts on Thursday, August 14, for plea taking.

This comes days after a Francis Talla Oufa, a Cameroonian national, was arrested by DCI detectives for swindling a Canadian investor $618,000 (Ksh79,876,500).

Oufa had enticed the Canadian into a lucrative deal involving the purchase of 250 kilograms of gold.

Upon arriving in Kenya, the unsuspecting investor was taken to plush, high-end offices, where he handed over the money before realizing he had been conned.

The suspect was nabbed at a residence in Belfair Park, Dagoretti, and taken into custody.

On July 29, detectives arrested four suspects at a residence along Whispers Avenue in Gigiri over orchestrating a gold scam that saw two Canadian nationals lose $ 37,500 (Ksh4.8 million).

During the raid, detectives recovered a gold smelting machine, an array of rubber stamps bearing the names of companies such as Alaska Express Freight Group Limited, Longcrane Logistics Limited, and Kakan Traders and Company.