The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has arrested four individuals suspected of impersonating environmental inspectors and extorting money from residents in Athi River, Machakos County.
According to a statement released on Monday, November 24, the NEMA Machakos County office, working jointly with the NEMA Police Unit, apprehended the four suspects on Thursday following intelligence reports from members of the public whom the impostors had terrorized.
The suspects allegedly masqueraded as NEMA environmental inspectors, conducting fake enforcement operations while demanding money from unsuspecting residents in the Athi River area.
Following the arrest, authorities established that the suspects typically operate as part of a larger network of eight individuals. The case is currently under investigation, and the four arrested suspects are being processed for arraignment before a Magistrate at Mavoko law courts.
NEMA has advised members of the public to verify the authenticity of environmental inspectors by scanning the QR code printed on official NEMA Inspector cards, which will display the genuine details of authorized personnel.
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In a similar case in October, a group of four fraudsters posing as officials from the Social Health Authority (SHA) was arrested after orchestrating a scheme that defrauded one victim of Ksh251,000.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reported that the suspects, Peter Muriithi, Catherine Kinyua, Lilian Njeri, and Samuel Mbuthia, had convinced their victim to register for what they claimed was a legitimate SHA membership program. The victim was persuaded to hand over his mobile phone under the pretext of completing the registration process.
Shortly after surrendering his phone, the victim noticed his device had been switched off and could not reconnect to the network. Upon rushing to his Sacco, he discovered that his entire savings of Ksh251,000 had been withdrawn and transferred to mobile numbers linked to the impostors.
Detectives from Marimanti launched an operation that resulted in the capture of all four suspects.
During the search, officers recovered incriminating evidence, including SHA-branded T-shirts, name tags, membership cards, informational leaflets, and multiple SIM cards. A Toyota Prado, registration number KDP 267C, believed to have been used in their fraudulent operations, was also impounded, along with another vehicle, registration number KDS 399C.
