How Fraudsters Conned Unsuspecting Senior AP Cop Out Of Sh31.5 Million

NAIROBI Kenya May 8 -A businessman was on Monday May 8 charged of defrauding a senior Administration Police officer of Sh24. 3 million by purporting to sell him four items worth Sh128 million at Sh36 million only.

Ray Ochieng Otieno claimed he was selling a Rupee, stove, Beacon and iron box to Commissioner of Police Abdiraham Dima at a cost of Sh24,364,000.

The accused claimed the four items, all from Germany, could fetch the officer Sh128 million. The amount received was paid between December 17, 2021 and January 4, 2023.

Otieno was also accused of conning Dima’s friend, Ibrahim Isaack Musa of Sh7, 136, 000 during the same period under similar circumstances.

He is said to have colluded with Abdoul Said Homoud, a foreigner, who was charged in court on February 2, and obtained a total of Sh31.5 million from the two.

The senior officer and his friend were duped to believe that they could make a profit of more than Sh136 million in the deal after selling the four items.

Officer Dima was approached by a person known to him when he was in charge of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) in Central Region in December 2021.

Dima agreed to meet the suspect at Mai Mahiu in Nakuru County but the suspect linked him with three individuals who were to accompany him to the venue of the meeting.

One of them was an alleged expert who was to confirm to Dima that the items he was to purchase were original.

On arrival, the officer was told that the Rupee and Beacon were worth Sh2 million and he paid Sh700, 000 in cash as the three other men who accompanied him presented an envelope each purporting to be containing Sh500, 000 each.

One of them took over the two items to keep them in Karen in Nairobi as they waited for the alleged foreign dealer who was to purchase them. 

They were to pay a storage fee of Sh3.1 million to the suspect who was to keep the items in Karen as they sought a lawyer who would facilitate the sale of the items to a dealer.

Dima later received a call from one of the suspects who requested him to meet them at a hotel along Thika Superhighway.

There, he met Otieno who posed as an expert and a foreigner who introduced himself as the buyer.

The two then told the officer that they had spoken to the owner of the items who asked for Sh3.7million to release the items.

Dima raised the amount and they proceeded to Mai Mahiu where they also asked for an additional Sh3million. Dima then called his friend Juma who brought him the cash

The suspects continued obtaining different amounts of money from the two complainants until they exhausted their cash in January this year having been jointly fleeced of Sh31. 5 million.

The suspected conmen stopped picking calls from Mr Dima and his friend Mr Musa after realizing they had run out of cash.