Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives have unearthed an intricate car theft scam in which conmen use lost national Identity Cards (IDs) for identity theft.
Officers who went undercover nabbed two suspects who had used lost identity cards to register phone numbers and receive mobile money transfers under the pretence of selling imported cars.
Eric Wabwire Illode, 27 and a former Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officer, Simon Muchemi Mbuthia, 30, were arrested after they asked the undercover cops to wire Ksh50,000 for a Toyota Harrier alleged to be en route from Mombasa.
Police had received complaints concerning the two from three different car buyers who were swindled out of Ksh7.1 Million shillings on separate occasions.
[caption caption="Car theft suspects arrested by DCI detectives"]
[/caption]
"They were arrested at the showroom along Kiambu Road. An identification parade by the victims identified the two as the men who conned them.
"They operate on Facebook pages; City Importers, City Motors Limited and Direct Importers and they usually post pictures of cars they purport to be selling.
"Once the buyer identifies the car, they negotiate the prices and then ask the person to meet them so that they can view the car either in Nairobi or Mombasa. They then ask you to send an amount of money as commitment, but once they have it, they take off," Kilimani OCPD, Michael Muchiri explained.
The suspects explained that they had obtained the IDs from the streets and registered SIM cards with them.
They would then target car buyers who were shopping for cars and after agreeing on the model of the car, they would demand a down payment for the car to be transported from Mombasa.
Police asked members of the public to be careful on the dealers they engage with during the car buying process.
[caption caption="Entrance to Kilimani Police Station "]
[/caption]
