Detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have picked three persons suspected of money laundering, a week after an expose by blogger Edgar Obare.
In a statement, the DCI said the three were picked on the night of Thursday, September 2, during an operation by DCI's Transnational Organized Crime detectives at an apartment in Nairobi's posh Kileleshwa estate.
According to the DCI, the suspects were found in possession of assorted fake local and foreign currencies and equipment believed to be used in the production of fake currencies. The three are currently being questioned even as investigations gather pace.
In the statement, the DCI stated that the three suspects were found in possession of several fake US dollar notes in denominations of 100.
Detectives also recovered a machine believed to be used in printing the fake notes that were found in the house.
"The detectives acting on intelligence had launched an operation at an apartment in Kileleshwa, therein ambushing the three suspects aged 54, 34 and 26 years," the DCI said in a statement.
The 34 year old suspect was a woman while the two others were males.
The sleuths said they suspect the three are part of a larger syndicate that is behind the rising cases of money laundering in the country.
DCI detectives proceeded to search the basement parking area where they recovered three copies of a fake letter purportedly from the Central Bank of Kenya from a car believed to belong to one of the suspects.
The letter, according to the detectives, was a notification receipt of Ksh10 billion.
Further, the DCI recovered two copies of United Nations invoices and a forged anti-money laundering clearance certificate.
According to the sleuths, they also recovered a packet of white powder labelled 'Best Quality Laundry Starch', a bottle containing a bluish substance, 45 USD notes in 100 denominations and 166 notes of Kenyan currency in Ksh1000 denominations.
The DCI stated that they had arrested the caretaker of the apartment after he attempted to block them from searching the vehicle where the counterfeit notes were found.
"The 54-yr-old, who is the caretaker of the apartment and who vehemently obstructed the detectives from conducting the operation within the facility, was also arrested and will face appropriate charges," the statement from the DCI read in part.
