Unveiling the fraud: Con artist who duped Kisii residents out of millions arrested
Police on the night of Monday, January 17, 2023, arrested a most wanted fraudster in Nairobi.
In a statement by the National Police Service (NPS), Mr Abdiqafar Abdirashid Abey was arrested at the Wilson Airport in Lang’ata Sub-County, Nairobi.
“He was nabbed while at Wilson Airport as he awaited to board a plane to Elwak,” the statement read in part.
Also read: How to avoid being financially conned with this popular WhatsApp scam
Mr Abey, who hails from Mandera County is suspected of defrauding the public with millions of shillings in a case that was reported at Nyanchwa Police Station in Kisii County.
The police said that the arrest was made possible following a tip-off from members of the public who spotted him at the airport.
Investigations by Nairobi News reveal that the suspect was engaging in Sim-card fraud, where he allegedly stole a lot of money in the process.
The suspect has been living in Kisii since 2017, where he worked in Mpesa shops.
This comes just two days after three suspects who live in Kisii were nabbed for defrauding Kenyans of their millions.
Also read: Nigerian internet scammer Hushpuppi bags 11-year jail term in the USA
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) gave a blow-by-blow detail of how the cybercriminals managed to con Kenyans before they were finally arrested over the weekend.
Describing the trio as notorious thugs, the DCI said they falsely “obtained money from unsuspecting members of the public by operating fictitious online platforms purporting to sell goods.”
They were identified as Dickson Magembe, Dionicious Omonyi and Derrick Kodek, and they were nabbed by sleuths attached to the DCI headquarters, the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau wing.
This is after several Kenyans complained to the DCI over the operation of the suspicious Twitter, Facebook and website accounts being run by the three.
“The trio are believed to have obtained millions of shillings from unsuspecting shoppers, by operating fake accounts imitating popular JUMIA online stores,” the DCI said.
Also read: Akothee’s brother-in-law was conned Sh0.5m in Facebook scam