18 Chinese nationals arrested in Nairobi over suspected cyber fraud 

At least 18 Chinese nationals were arrested following a major operation targeting a suspected cyber fraud syndicate operating from an apartment in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.

The operation was conducted on Monday afternoon by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based at Kilimani, working alongside officials from the Chinese Embassy.

According to police, the team acted on intelligence and raided an apartment on the 18th floor of Meteor Gardens Apartments along Kindaruma Road, where they found what investigators described as an active cyber fraud workstation.

The gang targeted accounts outside the country and rerouted to Kenya before cashing the same.

Police arrested the 18 suspects, all Chinese nationals, while several other occupants are believed to have escaped before or during the operation, officials said.

During the raid, detectives recovered 39 Chinese passports and seven Malaysian passports, suggesting the syndicate may have had links to multiple foreign nationals.

Investigators also seized equipment believed to have been used in the alleged cybercrime operations, including seven CPUs, 11 Samsung desktop computers, 16 laptops, 17 keyboards, 19 computer mice, 18 USB-C ports, four uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, three Safaricom Wi-Fi routers, extension cables, chargers and other electronic accessories.

The team further recovered 26 mobile phones comprising 18 iPhones, seven Huawei handsets and one Redmi phone.

Cash recovered from the apartment included Sh293,000 in Kenyan currency and 22 banknotes of 20,000 Malagasy ariary.

Police later searched three additional apartments within the same complex that are believed to have been occupied by members of the syndicate.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects entered Kenya within the past month from various countries, including China, Malaysia, Cambodia and Madagascar.

Crime scene investigators documented and processed the premises before the suspects were taken to Kilimani Police Station, where they remained in custody pending further investigations and possible court proceedings.

Authorities have launched investigations to establish the nature and extent of the suspected cyber fraud operation, identify any local collaborators and trace those who escaped during the raid.

There has been complaints that fraudsters targeting accounts in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and elsewhere were operating in Kenya. Officials said there was pressure to deport the group to China.

This is not the first time that security teams stage such an operation targeting the fraudsters from China. They were later deported.