Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday arrested a 30-year-old man accused of impersonating Spice FM presenter Eric Latiff to scam politicians and top managers.
The suspect was arrested at his house which is located in the Zambezi area of Kikuyu in Kiambu County.
During the raid, the officers managed to seize several communication gadgets which the suspect is said to have been using to swindle cash from his victims.
According to detectives, the accused has been impersonating Spice FM radio presenter Eric Latiff by reaching out to guests appearing in his popular political talk show The Situation Room.
According to the DCI, the suspect targeted Latiff's guests, texting them moments after they appeared on the show.
The suspect is said to have developed a tendency of sending a thank you message to the interviewees after every show.
The suspect would then go ahead and request cash favours from his victims who unknowingly sent the money.
Among those who fell victim to the suspect’s dirty tactics include a Principal Secretary and a renowned businessman.
Others include a renowned politician, a high-ranking director at a government agency and an official at popular trade association.
“Upon arrest and brief interrogation, the suspect alleged to be a diploma holder in journalism from a renowned media institution in the country, and previously working with a religious FM radio,” detectives noted.
Crucial evidence including the SIM cards allegedly used to send messages to targeted victims and receive the solicited money was recovered.
“The SIM cards have since been surrendered to the Digital Forensic Laboratory for analysis,” the DCI officers noted.
“Meanwhile, a Milimani court has granted detectives at the Nairobi Regional Headquarters 7 days to complete investigations.”
