Editor's Review

DCI) arrested four Chinese nationals for hijacking their victim's phone numbers and using them to handle stolen money.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested four Chinese nationals in Nairobi for hijacking their victim's phone numbers and using them to steal money from a betting site.

The DCI said on Wednesday, September 2, that the suspects SIM-swapped phone numbers registered to a Nairobi businesswoman, then used them to withdraw the stolen funds.

The victim filed a complaint with the police, who then trailed them to the suspects; Xiaoling Gu, Guodong Fu, Wenji Gao and Gu Xiaopeng.

"The investigation kicked off after the complainant discovered that her two Safaricom lines had suddenly gone dead, leaving her unable to make calls or access M-Pesa services.

"Detectives established that the complainant’s mobile lines had allegedly been used to receive funds from a gaming and betting platform, before the money was swiftly moved through mobile numbers and bank accounts linked to the suspects," the statement read.

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A file photo of the Chinese Nationals Arrested by DCI officers.

DCI detectives arrested the four and then searched their premises. The officers recovered an assortment of SIM cards belonging to locals and foreign nationals as well as money believed to be from the loot.

"Upon arrest, detectives recovered 15 Safaricom SIM cards and 9 Airtel SIM cards registered under different persons, 6 SIM cards belonging to foreign nationals, 6 mobile phones, laptops, 3 ATM cards belonging to different account holders, and KSh1,125,800 in cash," DCI wrote.

The four nationals were arraigned at the Chief Magistrate's Court in Kibra, where they were charged with stealing, personation and money laundering. They applied to be released on bond but remain in police custody pending a ruling on their application on September 4.

Detectives have expanded their investigations to weed out possible accomplices in the fraudulent theft and SIM-swapping. They are also following the money trail after the suspects withdrew it from the site.

Earlier, the DCI arrested two suspects over the alleged theft of Ksh31.2 million from a retail chain. The two, who were directors, posed as agents of the retailer and collected Ksh31,213,700.95 from customers who had purchased and collected goods from various branches of the retail chain.

The accused then diverted the money to their personal accounts. DCI charged them with stealing by an agent contrary to Section 283(b) of the Penal Code.