Githunguri businessman George Kinyanjui, identified as the proprietor of Ubuntu Gardens in Kibichoi, Komothai, is among 14 suspects arrested in a dramatic Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) operation targeting a suspected counterfeit currency and fake gold syndicate in Nairobi.
Kinyanjui was arrested on Thursday, October 1, alongside three serving police officers and foreign nationals from Nigeria, Cameroon and Sudan after detectives raided a warehouse behind Vision Plaza in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
The operation was triggered by a complaint lodged at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Police Station by a US national identified as Alkhalifi Ibrahim Hassan.
According to the DCI, detectives based at JKIA traced the suspected operation to the warehouse, where they recovered a haul of materials allegedly linked to a sophisticated counterfeit currency and fake gold operation.
Among the most striking discoveries were 31 sealed black pallets. Three contained 156 bundles of US$100 notes suspected to be counterfeit, while the remaining pallets contained cement.
Detectives also recovered 65 pieces of gold bars suspected to be fake, chemicals believed to have been intended for the manufacture of counterfeit currency and papers printed with US dollar notes.
A black bag found at the premises contained another 13 bundles of suspected counterfeit US$100 notes. Investigators also seized aluminium seals, seven cartons of UN blue plastic seals, two Kenya Revenue Authority reflector jackets, two empty suitcases, a pallet-strapping roll, a padlock cutter and a hacksaw.
The arrests have raised further questions after three of the suspects were identified as serving officers attached to the Security of Government Buildings unit at Uhuru Camp.
The officers were named as Corporal Joseph Otenyo Okimba, Administration Police Constable Douglas O. Odira and Administration Police Constable Felix Oyawa Odhiambo. The DCI said two were armed with Beretta pistols while the third had a Chalbi pistol during the operation. (The Eastleigh Voice)
Other suspects include Nigerian national Anthony Oyieka Namani, Cameroonian Soulemanou and Sudanese national Abbas Ibrahim Mohamed.
The Kenyan suspects were identified as Kinyanjui, Geofrey Omondi Juma, William Kimolo, Solomon Ndeda, Raphael Wayaya, Kevin Barasa, Erick Honla and Maureen Ogany.
The presence of fake gold bars alongside suspected counterfeit dollars has given the investigation a wider dimension, with detectives now working to establish whether the materials were intended for a broader gold-for-cash fraud targeting foreign clients.
The DCI has not publicly detailed the specific allegations against each of the 14 suspects, including Kinyanjui, or explained the individual roles investigators believe they played in the suspected operation.
Detectives processed the scene and secured the recovered items as exhibits as investigations continue to establish how the operation was organised and the respective roles of those arrested.
The suspects remain in police custody as investigators pursue the inquiry, with the DCI saying appropriate legal action will follow once investigations are completed.
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