A man linked to sim swap syndicate in the country was arrested and charged with robbery with violence.
Kevin Kiplang’at Maritim alias Elvis Chepkosa was arrested alongside his close associates Hillary Muge, Emmanuel Tonui and Evans Kiprotich Chirchir alias Protio in Bomet and arraigned in Kericho.
They denied robbery with violence charges and were each released on Sh1 million bond with two sureties of Sh500,000 each.
The charge sheet read that on the 28th day of December 2023 at Upper hill Estate in Bureti Sub County within Kericho County, jointly with others not before Court while armed with dangerous weapons namely pistols robbed Wesley Kipngenp Tanui of his Motor Vehicle Reg. No. KDE 005K make Toyota Fielder valued at Sh1,520,000 and cash Sh150,000 all totaling Sh1,670,000 and immediately before or immediately after the time of robbery used actual violence against the said Tanui.
They denied the charges before a Kericho court.
According to police, Chepkosa is the leader of the infamous Mulot simswap syndicate. He was arrested on February 13 2024 by DCI officers who sought more time through a miscellaneous application to detain him.
He and his accomplices were arraigned on February 20 and detained in custody for two weeks when their bail application was heard.
The 31-year-old leads a group of youth from Bomet County who have specialized in social engineering (vishing) which they use to extract personal identifiable information from their victims and later use to sim swap their phone numbers, thereafter withdrawing money from their mobile wallets and bank accounts.
Chepkosa started engaging in the crime around 2014 after learning about the vice from one Job Kipkoech Rere, a cybercriminal who learnt the same while incarcerated at Naivasha Maximum Prison. According to police, he periodically recruits youth from the area and train them on his social engineering and sim swap activities.
This has seen the vice becoming widespread in Mulot and it is said that there is at least one sim swapper in every homestead.
The syndicate has also recruited persons in key institutions such as banks and National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) who are able to provide them with information such as Mpesa/Bank balances and dates of birth which they use in their operations.
They have further recruited police officers in the area who offer them protection and inform them of any planned operations by teams from outside their area.
This has seen syndicate members escaping arrests or being released from custody in unclear circumstances, officials say.
During low seasons when sim swap activities are not yielding much, the syndicate members involve themselves in robberies within Bomet, Kericho and Nakuru Counties, police investigations show.
Chepkosa and his associates have amassed wealth that they showcase on social media platforms such as Tiktok, further attracting the area youth to the vice. Other syndicate members include Robert Korir, Chepkosa’s sister Jedidah Chepkorir and his brother Rashid Langat, police say.
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