Editor's Review

DCI officers have arrested a 26-year-old Meru University dropout, Seth Mwabe, in connection with hacking into a betting firm and siphoning Ksh11.4 million.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a 26-year-old Meru University dropout, Seth Mwabe, in connection with hacking into a betting firm and siphoning Ksh11.4 million. 

Mwabe was arrested on Saturday, August 30, evening at his house in Tatu City, Kiambu County, by detectives from the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit.

The suspect had refused to allow the detectives access to his apartment, forcing officers to break in.

The detectives discovered a heavily equipped computer laboratory, a money counting machine, and a safe in the suspect's apartment

According to Central Region Criminal Investigations Officer Abraham Mugambe, the betting firm made a complaint to the DCI in July, and detectives immediately launched an investigation.

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Screengrab image of Seth Mwabe and detectives from DCI. 

Mugambi noted that investigations revealed that the suspect stole the millions after he bypassed the security systems of the betting firm’s payment service provider,

“This year, in July, a report was made to the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit in Nairobi that a payment service provider had lost Ksh11.4 million through fraudulent means.

“Investigations commenced and a DCI team of experts from Banking Fraud Unit launched investigations, and they established that the fraud was done through bypassing the payment service provider security systems, and they succeeded in defrauding the complainant of Ksh11.4 million,” said Mugambe.

Mwabe, who describes himself as a cybersecurity engineer and consultant, told detectives that he dropped out of university in his second year.

The suspect is being held at the Capitol Hill Police Station as DCI detectives await approval from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to press charges against him under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

This comes days after DCI detectives arrested two women in possession of counterfeit US dollars, worth over Ksh70 million.

The two suspects, identified as Ifrah Ali Jeyte and Qamar Salat Abdi, were arrested during a well-coordinated operation in Upperhill, Nairobi.

The detectives searched the two women and recovered numerous bundles of $100 denomination notes cleverly concealed inside a handbag.

The seized money was later counted at the DCI Nairobi area headquarters, where it was confirmed to total $560,000 (Ksh 70 million) in fake notes.