A foreign investor was left crying foul after falling into a well-orchestrated trap laid by Nairobi con men. The tycoon from Thailand left the country after losing Ksh 2 million to the city fraudsters who had promised him Ksh 51 million in return, plus a rice import deal with the government.
Howard Leasure, the Thai businessman, claimed that he underwent a strange ritual inside a posh house at Muthaiga, Nairobi, which raised his suspicion and caused him to report the matter at Central Police Station, Nairobi.
A report by the Standard on Friday, March 3, stated that Howard had been promised Ksh 11 million in the rice business by one Sheikh Abdul, who added that he would invest Ksh 40 million later after the Thai completed the rituals.
"I flew to Nairobi after a close Thai friend referred me to Abdul - reportedly from Chad- who was interested in my business. After our online meeting, he requested faced-to-face meeting so that I could introduce him to the businesses of importing rice to the country.
"I agreed to visit, but for only three days after Abdul promised to take care of my accommodation. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed and he reportedly left the airport but instructed a driver to drop me at an apartment pending our meeting the following day," Howard disclosed, adding that he extended his stay by two more days after the rice deal appeared quite promising.
The businessman was reportedly ushered into a room described as a holy temple where the rituals began.
"The room had strange paraphernalia with a black and red cloth draped along the walls and on to a hallway and an adjoining room. There, he told me that business aside, he wanted us to be like brothers and promised to invest in my business. Abdul washed his feet using an unknown liquid which he emptied into two red buckets as he was burning incense around the room to 'multiply' the cash.
The next day, he was joined by his driver in prayers. At some point, I was instructed to leave behind my briefcase which had Ksh 2 million and some rice samples. Abdul instructed me to leave my suitcase and pick it later when it would have been filled with more than Ksh 11 million," Howard recalled, stating that the room had a lot of money in dollars.
The Thai tycoon was duped into believing that the money would be sent later to him by airport officials after he had left Kenya for Thailand. However, after arriving at his hotel, he reached out to Abdul who claimed that he was busy meeting other clients in the temple.
"It then dawned on me that the driver was part of the scam as he also vanished leaving me on my own for three weeks. When I got hold of the driver, he told me that the ceremony was not complete until I buy five black sheep and other strange things to make the deal sail through," he stated, adding that he relied on his friends who raised money for him to travel back home.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided the temple, arrested three suspects for reportedly targetting foreigners after Howard reported the matter to the police and to the Thai embassy.
"They lure foreigners with sweet deals then dupe them using fake rituals. They use fake nationalities to fool their preys," a sleuth revealed.
