The detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested five suspects for allegedly hacking into bank accounts and stealing more than Ksh3.2 million.
DCI on Wednesday, May 7, said that the individuals were caught after police followed leads from a mobile phone theft incident in Nairobi.
"Authorities have arraigned five savvy fraudsters who orchestrated a sophisticated hacking scheme, draining over Ksh3.2 million from a victim's bank accounts," the DCI stated.
The detective stated the trouble began when a man was driving along Race Course Road and got stuck in traffic. Two strangers knocked on his car windows, pretending there had been a small accident.
When he rolled down his window to check for damage, one of the strangers grabbed his phone and ran off. Shortly after the theft, the victim noticed large amounts of money missing from his bank accounts.
After the detectives from Starehe Sub-County began an investigation, they discovered that the amount of Ksh1,892,625 had been transferred from one of his accounts.
The victim's second bank account was also hacked, losing Ksh1,311,615. The money was transferred to different people.
Police investigations led to the arrest of one of the suspects, who admitted he had been paid to open 11 bank accounts, where he said he was offered Ksh1,000 per account.
The three suspects were arraigned at the Makadara Law Courts on April 28, 2025, and police were given 21 days to complete investigations.
Detectives expanded their search and arrested the rest of the suspects, who were found in a Toyota Voxy with assorted SIM cards, a SIM card registration device, fake US dollar notes, and multiple ATM cards.
The two suspects then led police to another suspect, identified as the mastermind. He had been wanted since 2019 for hacking bank systems. Police found him with account documents, phones, SIM cards, national IDs, laptops, and ATM cards.
The three suspects were also arraigned at the Makadara Law Courts on May 5, 2025, and police were granted 10 more days to complete their investigations and find more suspects. The DCI assured the public that investigations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected soon
