A Dutch national was attacked and robbed Sh3.6 million in a fake gold deal in Kakamega Town.
The incident happened on May 28, 2025 in a building where the foreigner had been driven to.
The victim is the latest to fall into the trap of the gold scammers who are changing tactics on a daily basis amid police operations to tame the trend.
According to the police, the victim had traveled from Dubai to Nairobi, then flew to Kisumu before he was picked up to visit an alleged gold site in Ikolomani, Kakamega.
He told police he met an alleged gold handler online who identified himself as only Smith and who claimed to possess gold in Ikolomani Sub County.
He persuaded him to travel to learn how to sell the gold in Dubai.
The foreigner traveled to Kenya and then to Ikolomani through Kisumu International Airport.
He was met by the said Smith and another individual, who boarded a blue on Wednesday evening to Kakamega town.
He was later taken to a building where he was attacked by three men who overpowered him and robbed him of USD 29,950 and later abandoned him at Kisumu International Airport, where he reported the incident.
During the robbery, the foreigner sustained bruises on his face and experienced general body pains.
He received medical attention from Port Health and was discharged in fair condition.
Police said they are investigating the saga.
Such incidents where foreigners are conned of their money over fake gold deals have been rampant.
Police have asked authorities to classify the trend as a threat to national security and a serious crime.
This is the latest recovery of the fake gold being made in a series of police operations in the country.
Police say most of the suspects behind the incidents have been arrested and arraigned and their cases remain active in courts.
The operations have been mounted in the past years after many foreigners complained they had been scammed in the city.
Nairobi was increasingly turning to be the hub for fake gold deals, which prompted the operations.
Police say they have dozens of cases of complaints from foreigners who say they had been conned by Kenyans pretending to be selling gold.
In efforts to address such incidents, the DCI had asked embassies in the country to join the fight against the vice by urging them to advise their nationals engaged in trade to follow procedures.
“We urge the Embassies (High Commissions) to advise their nationals coming in for business to be apprised of con business of gold going on in the country and first contact the Department of Mines and Geology for the procedure that pertains to buying and selling of gold and other precious metals,” the DCI said.
It has extended similar caution to Kenyans trading in the commodity to conduct proper due diligence and ascertain that the people they are dealing with are not fraudsters.
“The gold scam has now reached alarming levels as unsuspecting foreign nationals are being swindled large amounts of money by fraudsters.”
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