The OCPD presiding over Kasarani police division in Nairobi County is counting losses after falling victim to a Simcard con game.
The senior cop lost Ksh600,000 to a well-organised syndicate that is suspected to be working with staff from local banks and telcos.
Officers attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested a suspect by the name of Gideon Mark, who reportedly confessed to being part of a wider syndicate.
Testifying at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday, January 10, investigating officer Kapario Lekakeny, told the court the Mark posed as a customer service agent when he contacted the police boss.
The suspect used a private number to reach out to the OCPD on numerous occasions between January 4 and 5, asking him to initiate a sim swap.
Falling for the trap hook, line and sinker, the officer gave out all his details, which the gang used to register a new line.
Lekakeny stated that the fraudsters used the obtained personal information to transfer money from the officer's bank account into other lines registered to two mobile service providers
The investigating officer noted that Mark was part of a well-coordinated sim-swap syndicate based in Mulot, Bomet county known as 'Confirmed.'
He noted that they worked in cahoots with members of staff of mobile service providers in the country to siphon money from clients.
The group targets the elderly, who are more gullible and are more likely to give out their information. They register lines using lost identification card numbers or those belonging to the dead.
“Members of his syndicate who are all using mobile phone numbers registered with other people’s national identity cards to disguise their identities,” the officer stated.
After obtaining information, they use it to wipe out the clients' mobile money and bank accounts.
Officers have been working with the mobile service providers to track down members of the gang. They requested the court to allow them to hold the suspect for eight more days for investigations.
“Members of his syndicate who are all using mobile phone numbers registered with other people’s national identity cards to disguise their identities,”
“The suspect was arrested with the help of the service provider. However the money was not recovered and the investigators require adequate time to travel to parts of Bomet with the help of the suspect in order to recover the money,” Kapario told the court.
